Senator Avery and others evidently are not very happy with the Nebraska School Activities Association, or the "old boys club" as some people call it. LB 1021 would essentially dictate a new governing structure for the NSAA and permit the Legislature to offer supervision of high school activities to another association if NSAA does not comply.
The Education Committee took out everything in the bill except the part that requires the NSAA to follow requirements of the Open Meetings Act. The NSAA is a private organization that schools have formed to manage school activities. The Open Meetings Act currently applies to only meetings of public organizations. Senator Avery believes, and rightfully so, that since schools are publicly funded, the meetings of the NSAA should be open to the public.
There are also some concerns with the make-up of the NSAA Board of Directors. There are six districts and each district elects a representative. The districts in eastern Nebraska have more schools and student population than the districts in western Nebraska. Folks in Lincoln are upset that state volleyball will be moved to Grand Island and Hastings and blame the structure of the Board of Directors. At our district Fall meeting I suggested that we change the by-laws to give Lincoln and Omaha their own representatives,but that idea was not taken very seriously. There are some proposals to realign the districts to the current census (they have not changed since 1920). Maybe that will help keep the legislature out of the school activity business.
These comments are from an administrator who does not consider himself a part of the "old boys club."
