Meeting was convened at 4:40 p.m. by Chairman Majikes
ITEM 1 Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m.
Absent but accounted for: Danielle Adams, Vito Quaglia, Mike Costanza, and Jim Higgins
Advisors Present: District II Solicitor Don Rogers
ITEM 2 Chairman Majikes began the meeting asking the committee to observe a moment of silence in the memory of Ann Spagna, wife of former District II Officials’ Representative, Bob Spagna.
ITEM 3 Chairman Majikes passed around the recently received American Cancer Society Recognition Award to the District II Committee members present. The award is in recognition for the fine work done by Coaches, Officials and Schools throughout the District in the “Coaches versus Cancer” campaign.
ITEM 4 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Bill King, to approve the minutes of the October 20, 2010 meeting. All Ayes
ITEM 5 Frank Victor, District II Treasurer, presented the monthly treasurer’s report which reflects a current balance of $89,539.95. That balance includes total certificates of deposit of $72,165.21 and a total savings and checking account balance of $17,374.74. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the report as presented. All Ayes
ITEM 6 Chairman Majikes reminded the Fall Sports’ Chairpersons of the upcoming PIAA Fall Workshops scheduled at the PIAA State Offices in Mechanicsburg on Thursday, December 9, 2010. All chairpersons are expecting to attend.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes reviewed a request received from Tim Honeywell, Athletic Director at Berwick High School, regarding the Student Leadership Workshops scheduled for April 6, 7, and 8 in Pennsylvania at sites to be determined. Tim has sent out a note to all Athletic Directors in District II on the subject as well.
ITEM 8 Mike Ognosky reviewed the developing plans for a workshop for students, parents, coaches, athletic directors, and school administrators in conjunction with the Positive Coaching Alliance. The District II Committee is working in conjunction with the University of Scranton and the Bochicchio Sport Character Initiative to offer the program on March 15th and 16th. Information is expected to be disseminated to member schools prior to the Christmas holidays. Stay tuned!
ITEM 9 The Committee discussed the potential for the creation of an archives containing information on past playoff results, including championships, by the various teams/individuals in the District. Mike Ognosky explained that an archive of championships exists for the years 2005-2010 on the webpage and would be very interested in building a larger data base of information. Suggestions included working with local newspaper staffs and other volunteers to create such an archive and place it on the webpage. This will be a continuing discussion item at future meetings.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes reviewed a request from Bob Ide, Fox 56 TV Sports Director, to televise live the District II A and AAA finals at a cost of $500 and $1000 respectively. After discussion, the Committee agreed to respectively decline the opportunity and maintain our current rates as stated in the Football Playoff Procedures.
ITEM 11 The District II Committee then acted upon the following eligibility requests by member schools:
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve eligibility for Molly Burke, Holy Cross to Dunmore, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal Sign Off, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Jeff Gregory, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve eligibility for Tyler Chaffman, Coughlin to Lake-Lehman, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal Sign Off, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Frank Galicki, seconded by Gerald Grimaud, to approve eligibility for Charletto Pascal, Scranton to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal Sign Off, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately. All Ayes
ITEM 12 Chairman Majikes updated the committee on the recent termination of PIAA Membership for former District II PIAA member schools Fell Charter and St. Rose Academy.
ITEM 13 Chairman Majikes reviewed a request from a member school asking that
the District II Committee provide eligibility for an international student as
an exception to the current PIAA By-Laws. Chairman Majikes advised t
the Committee that he had discussed the request with the PIAA State
Office and it is not in the realm of the authority of the District II
Committee to act on such a request.
ITEM 14 Chairman Majikes provided a revised request from the PIAA State Office asking for member schools’ feedback during the PIAA Strategic Planning Committee initiative. Member schools will be provided a copy of the updated, revised information request and asked for input.
ITEM 15 Chairman Majikes announced that three Pennsylvanians have been recommended for induction into the 2011 National High School Hall of Fame: Steve Javie, Billy Owens, and Roy George Snyder.
ITEM 16 Chairman Majikes updated the committee on the status of the PIAA Board of Appeal Decision on Jason McGovern, a student-athlete at Carbondale Area. At the time of the November meeting, the action of the PIAA decision had not yet been appealed.
ITEM 17 Chairman Majikes updated the committee on the status of a concern from a PIAA District II registered soccer official regarding the actions of the GAR Junior High Head Soccer Coach in the posting of comments on facebook. Following a discussion, a motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Tom Jenkins, asking the District II Secretary to send a letter to the GAR administration requiring their appearance, as well as the Junior High Head Soccer Coach, at the next District II Committee meeting to be held on December 15, 2010 in order to discuss this issue. All Ayes
ITEM 18 Chairman Majikes reviewed correspondence received from the administration of both the Dallas and Tunkhannock High Schools regarding the recently contested Dallas-Tunkhannock football contest – the first contest since the 2009 contest. Following discussion, the committee asked the Secretary to send a letter to both administrations complementing them on the spirit of cooperativeness and their efforts on maintaining the appropriate atmosphere as well as encouraging them to continue their efforts at future events.
ITEM 19 Chairman Majikes provided the committee with two informational items. The first was a news article prepared by Dr. Wesley Knapp, Superintendent of the Mid- West School District criticizing the PIAA for not taking a position regarding males participating on Field Hockey teams. The second was a rebuttal letter from Brad Cashman, Executive Director of the PIAA, explaining that the PIAA has been under an injunction from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania prohibiting the PIAA from establishing rules or regulations that would prohibit boys from playing or practicing on girls’ teams or girls playing or practicing on boys’ teams.
ITEM 20 SPORTS REPORTS:
· Cross Country: Bill King commented that he has received very positive feedback on the recently completed Cross Country Championships and praised the Elk Lake School District for their site and site preparation. Congratulations to both Elk Lake and Holy Redeemer on their first and second place finishes in both the PIAA AA Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country State Championships.
· Volleyball: Maureen Williams presented the final financial report for the District II Volleyball Championships. Committee members expressed concern over the AA Pool Play format citing that it is not consistent with the format in both A and AAA as well as tripling the expenses for the Championships as opposed to previous years.
· Soccer: Don Kanavy thanked Al Holtzer and Irv DeReemer for their assistance throughout the tournament as well as the site managers at the specific venues who all did a wonderful job.
· Football: Tom Jenkins reported that the championships are moving along successfully and will culminate with the A, AA and AAA championship games this weekend. He congratulated Wyoming Valley West on their AAAA Championship as well.
· Golf: Joe Farrell thanked Mark Kirsten and Charlie Turco for their help in the most recently completed championships.
· Wrestling: Jay Starnes presented the wrestling format for the 2011 championships. A motion was made by Mike Ognosky, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes
ITEM 21 Gerald Grimaud surveyed the Committee members on the job descriptions
and certifications that they have in place in their districts for the position
of Athletic Director. He thanked the Committee members for their input.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m.
THE NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH AT 4:15 PM AT THE WILKES-BARRE AREA CAREER & TECHNOLOGY CENTER.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary