Lufkin admits to turning in faulty numbers to UIL

[Pack007]

Or nothing at all. That KTRE article is from two days ago. The LISD attorney in the paper today said, the UIL isn't convinced the rule was violated. The investigation is still ongoing though

[MrBuddyGarrity]

UIL explains their procedure to double-check enrollment numbers

 

Excellent read on how it affected other schools. This may turn in to something big.

 

Be sure and click on the writers column.

Thx, that answers a previous question I had. I figured it wasnt something new to include the other numbers.

[Sportsfanatic1]

Or nothing at all. That KTRE article is from two days ago. The LISD attorney in the paper today said, the UIL isn't convinced the rule was violated. The investigation is still ongoing though

It may be true but I wouldn't expect him to say nothing else unless he was representing all the schools it affected.

[sbparent]

Again, why is the attorney involved? What are they going to do, sue UIL? Where is the Supt? She is in charge.

[Sportsfanatic1]

Better East Texas: UIL should take action in Lufkin enrollment flop

[PackAttack]

The jury — in this case, the Texas University Interscholastic League — is still out on whether the Lufkin school district violated UIL policy when it inadvertently turned in a lower high school enrollment number two years ago than it should have. Nobody knows what the UIL’s Executive Committee will determine when it addresses the issue later this year, but a couple things are clear to us: Lufkin ISD didn’t fudge its numbers in an attempt to avoid the new Class 6A, and there’s a good argument to be made for not counting the students Lufkin didn’t include.

Wayne Haglund, the school district’s Lufkin-based attorney, and Sheila Adams, Lufkin ISD executive director of communications, said in a meeting with our editorial board this past week that there was “certainly no willful violation of the rules” when Lufkin High School officials in 2013 turned in an enrollment of 2,088 students in the ninth through 12th grades. (Disclosure: Adams is the wife of Andy Adams, who is editor of The Lufkin News and a member of this editorial board.) That number would have been 2,136 had students from the Lufkin State Supported Living Center and Stubblefield Learning Center been included, which would have pushed the high school into the new Class 6A for purposes of academic and athletic competition. The UIL’s 5A/6A cutoff line for the 2014-16 school years turned out to be 2,100, but keep in mind the fact that Texas’ school districts did not know what that number would be until a month after they had all turned in their own enrollment figures.

First things first: Lufkin had already been in the state’s top classification for decades, and its fans weren’t keen on dropping to a lower level of competition. Too much pride was at stake, especially when it came to the football program. We argued in this space two years ago that Lufkin — which was right at the cutoff line between classes 6A and 5A, and whose families had suffered massive industrial job losses in the past few years — could benefit from moving “down” to the new 5A. And it did, especially in the academic and non-football athletic competitions. Class 5A is just a better fit for a truly rural school district, even one as large as Lufkin.

But — and this is where we hope the UIL pays attention — Lufkin High School’s true enrollment figure is inflated by a number of students (48, in this case) who cannot participate in UIL activities. Lufkin ISD is “a very unique situation,” as Haglund put it, in that it has both a state supported living center and a place like Stubblefield, an alternative high school setting that focuses on keeping people (many adults, even) on track toward getting a diploma instead of dropping out of school altogether. No good deed goes unpunished, and we’re afraid that Lufkin ISD is in danger of getting slapped on the hand — or worse — for participating in two worthwhile endeavors that most other districts don’t have.

Lufkin ISD apparently has not included students from those two “alternative settings,” as the UIL refers to them, for some time, and it didn’t matter because our high school always played at the highest level (even winning state championships in baseball, basketball and football over the years, we might add). Now, with just one month left in the 2014-16 biennium, someone reported Lufkin High School in an anonymous letter in which the person specifically pointed to the Panthers’ state soccer title last year as being “egregious” because the school should have been playing in the new 6A. We obviously don’t agree with the person who wouldn’t even put their name on that claim.

One thing we don’t yet know is whether the UIL has a standard reporting form on which it specifically asks how many students each high school has in its alternative settings. It doesn’t sound like it, not after talking to Haglund, who said the enrollment figure is submitted online. It seems to us that, if a mistake was made, the UIL is just as culpable as the Lufkin school district in not catching it before the start of the biennium.

As it is now, you can’t change what happened in all the academic and athletic competitions that have occurred in the past 23 months (and will occur in the one to come). We suppose the UIL could change the outcome of all of them, but what a gargantuan mess that would be. It simply wouldn’t be fair to the hundreds of Lufkin kids, both on the championship soccer team and all the other squads, who have worked to compete their hardest in the classification into which adults in Austin placed them.

Lufkin ISD officials say they’re committed to doing things the right way, and — even though we believe 5A is the proper place for the Panthers — nobody here is afraid of the higher level of competition that Class 6A is sure to bring. What was done in 2013, however, is done. Punishing students and student-athletes for an error that may or may not have been made then would be a big mistake now.

From the Lufkin Daily News Article

[sbparent]

Lufkin Hudson and Diboll have students in Stubblefield Learning Center as well; did they count them? Huntington counts its Pride School students, their alternative school, and they cannot participate as well. Nacogdoches County has the Boys Ranch and those students are counted. Counting alternative schools students has been around for at least the 10 years that I know of. Livingston was punished albeit probation.

[Mavchamp]

It's going to be a travesty if Lufkin is stripped of their state championship IMHO. Those kids did nothing wrong..... all they did was WIN.

 

 

But if I was a player or a fan of the team that lost to Lufkin in the title game.... or the semifinals...... I'd probably be less inclined to be sympathetic to the LP players.

 

That's not even counting all the other playoff games in other sports that teams lost to Lufkin. And few have mentioned the district titles lost with the mal-alignment.

 

What a mess.

 

I don't envy UIL, LISD, or anyone that feels slighted in any of this. Esp if Lufkin has to pay for it in coming seasons.

 

Taking past victories away from them would hurt... but hampering their future competitions seems excessive.

[firstandgoal]

It's a big mess. Look at Lindale baseball. If Lufkin had not been in our district last year we would have had much better positioning for the playoffs and looking at going 2 or 3 rounds instead.

[ibleedorange]

minimum have to strip them of the title,feel bad for the kids but they should have been playing 6A. Feel worse for the kids who were denied the opportunity to play for or win the state title. Have to send a message that you can not do this,even if it was an innocent mistake

[Cougar12345]

GUILTY. UIL has form. Very easy to follow.

[dillonpanthers]

I agree. Even if it was truly an accident, If they don't do something now, then there would be no reason for another district to not turn in a lower number.

[BACKnBLACK]

I was about to say the kids of the schools that lost to a 6A school played hard also. Some missed playoffs because of the " mistake "

To hold a title you must play your classification.

 

Ennis is one of the smallest schools in 5A and competes just fine. Won the State Title in Football and Softball. Sorry this has to happen but LISD has leaders in place to submit the correct information.

[bob cousy]

I have said it once and I will say it again, they have a form to follow on who to count.

[dillonpanthers]

I have said it once and I will say it again, they have a form to follow on who to count.

+1 every other school district in the state counts their alternative campuses just fine...

[LoboFan07]

Lufkin ISD apparently has not included students from those two “alternative settings,” as the UIL refers to them, for some time, and it didn’t matter because our high school always played at the highest level (even winning state championships in baseball, basketball and football over the years, we might add). Now, with just one month left in the 2014-16 biennium, someone reported Lufkin High School in an anonymous letter in which the person specifically pointed to the Panthers’ state soccer title last year as being “egregious” because the school should have been playing in the new 6A. We obviously don’t agree with the person who wouldn’t even put their name on that claim.

 

Why does this come off as trying to attack the person that reported the wrong doing? Lufkin screwed it up. It doesn't matter if that person wants to put their name on the report or not imo.

 

It doesn't change the fact that Lufkin ISD took away district championships from those in their rightful class.

It doesn't change the fact that Lufkin ISD took away playoff spots from those in their rightful class.

It doesn't change the fact that Lufkin is the one that screwed up and should be punished to prevent this type of thing from happening again.

 

I don't blame the person that wrote it anonymously, especially if they're living in Lufkin. They'd be absolutely crucified in that town for not letting the Panthers get away from it.

[Sportsfanatic1]

Two things can happen with this- The UIL can come down hard on Lufkin and Lufkin will look bad or the UIL do very little and they both will look bad. Either way LISD has a black eye no matter what.

[Grainraiser]

Did Lufkin count this kids prior to the last two years ???

[Matt]

PackAttack, a mistake WAS made. You said "may or may not." (?). It's clear Lufkin ISD made a mistake and they need to be penalized in some way. When you tell the officer you didn't know it was 40 mph, he still gives you a ticket for going 60. It doesn't matter if it was an innocent mistake or not. You still get the ticket. If the form says you count alternative schools, you count them. Period. I agree it isn't the kids fault -- like the state champion soccer team, that would be terrible to take away -- but rules are rules and the UIL can't just let this go and say "what's done is done".

[flukeshot]

That's correct. The benefit was the same whether the error was intentional or not, and the remedy should be the same too. Would be absurd to let them keep a championship that was unfairly earned (and a huge black eye for the UIL), that shouldn't even be a point of discussion. They should forfeit every district and postseason game in every sport just as a matter of course, and the talk should be about penalizing them going forward.

[trueblue82]

PackAttack, a mistake WAS made. You said "may or may not." (?). It's clear Lufkin ISD made a mistake and they need to be penalized in some way. When you tell the officer you didn't know it was 40 mph, he still gives you a ticket for going 60. It doesn't matter if it was an innocent mistake or not. You still get the ticket. If the form says you count alternative schools, you count them. Period. I agree it isn't the kids fault -- like the state champion soccer team, that would be terrible to take away -- but rules are rules and the UIL can't just let this go and say "what's done is done".

Correct. If the UIL allows a school to keep district and playoff wins that they got while playing below the classification they belong in, they should just close their doors. That sets a dangerous precedent, and destroys any credibility they might have.

[dillonpanthers]

Correct. If the UIL allows a school to keep district and playoff wins that they got while playing below the classification they belong in, they should just close their doors. That sets a dangerous precedent, and destroys any credibility they might have.

Agree. I've said it before, it would be sad for the athletes that won them. But if the UIL doesn't do something now, it will happen again. No doubt.

[MrBuddyGarrity]

UIL kinda quiet, thanks to Katy?

[sbparent]

One would think that the UIL would have taken action quickly. Can't believe they let the baseball and softball teams compete after the news was out. Will be embarrassing if Lufkin softball wins a regional championship or possibly a state title and then it gets taken away from them.

[DoubleTeam]

I can't believe the 5th place teams in baseball and softball are not bringing some sort of legal action.