Jason Piercey
Jason Piercey, the boys basketball coach and athlectic director for MTCS, listens in on the TSSAA Legislative Council meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro on Thursday.
Ricky Bowers
MURFREESBORO – Private schools are guaranteed representation on the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s two governing bodies — the Board of Control and Legislative Council.
However that representation won’t start until December — more than two months after the current Council meets again to discuss and vote on tweaks to their bylaws that could affect them.
Private schools will have one representative each in the TSSAA’s three Grand Divisions — East, Middle and West — on both the Legislative Council and the Board of Control. Both the Council and the Board will each have 12 representatives after the elections. The private school representative can come from Division I or Division II, which offers need-based financial aid.
The Council voted 5-4 on Thursday against a public-private split.
TSSAA Assistant Director Matthew Gillespie said the delay for those elections is because they are always held during the TSSAA’s regional meetings, which are held in November.
During the regional meetings, member schools will also vote for one other legislative council and one board member as each Grand Division has one term expiration. That leaves a possibility of multiple private school administrators being voted in, but it’s unlikely.
Former Franklin Road Academy administrator Steve Harris is the most recent Legislative Council member to come from a private school, and his original term began when he was at Hillsboro. He held a spot from 2003-12.
Private school representation is important for the association, Ensworth athletic director Ricky Bowers said.
“It would be presumptuous and inappropriate for a group of independent schools to understand the nuances of public school issues. And vice versa,” said Bowers, who is also the school’s boys basketball and football coach. “We have a healthier organization now.”
Councilmen Keith Turner of Science Hill, Ron Woodard of Maplewood and William McAdams of Hardin County all have their positions up for election. It is not known if any of the three are seeking re-election. McAdams was completing the term of Huntingdon’s Mike Henson.
Of the three that are up for re-election, McAdams and Woodard voted against a public-private split during Thursday’s Legislative Council meeting.
Board of Control members Tommy Layne of Sequatchie County, Jerry Mathis of Tullahoma and Ike White of Memphis Westwood have their spots up for election. White said in June that he won’t seek re-election.
The East Regional meeting will be held Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. at Hardin Valley Academy. The West Regional Meeting is at 1 p..m., Nov. 4 at University School of Jackson. And the Middle Regional meeting is slated for 10 a.m., Nov. 5 at Hillwood.
Gillespie said candidate nominations will be made at each regional meeting. He said sometimes administrators campaign for votes via email. Other times administrators are shocked when asked to run for election.
Regardless of who the private school representation is, MTCS athletic director Jason Piercey said he was simply happy to have someone from private schools representing on his behalf.
“Now we have a voice and a vote,” said Piercey, who is also the Murfreesboro private school’s boys basketball coach. “That’s a pretty good line. We trust the Council and the Board to do the right decision. But a lot is out of your control.
“We feel that now someone understands what we go through in our type of school. It’s a very good step forward for the organization.”
Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.