NCHSAA press conference addresses concerns of state lawmakers Subject:* A friend wanted you to see this item from High School OT: https://wr.al/1K6ut The commissioner, president, and vice president of the N.C. High School Athletic Association are meeting with members of the media after HighSchoolOT broke the story this week that members of the General Assembly are investigating the association's authority as a non-profit organization and looking into the association's finances. Show Transcript have you on this morning for a press conference of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. My name is James Albertson. I'm the assistant commissioner for media relations, and I will be moderating our press conference today. We do have on the call with us this morning President Jerry Simmons, who is the principal at New Bern High School, and Vice President Bobby Wilkins, who is, uh, the principal at Hendersonville High School, and we're glad to have both of them on the call with us this morning. Commissioner Q. Tucker is sitting right beside me. She will also be on this call, and they will be the three primary speakers today answering your questions. But we will begin with a brief opening statement from, uh, President Simmons and then Commissioner Tucker. Before we take your questions, we will take questions via the Q and a, uh, down in the bottom of your screen. If you would like to ask a question, please type it into the Q and A and I will be reading those questions, moderating them and directing them to the appropriate person, whether that's Jerry Simmons, Bobby Wilkins or Commissioner Tucker. So with that and without any further ado. Uh, we will be posting the recording of this and sending a link out to you guys that you're able to download the recording when we wrap up. But without any further ado, I'll turn it over to President Jerry Simmons. Thank you very much for being with us this morning. All right. Thank you so much, James. And good morning. I am Jerry Simmons on the principle of New Bern High School and president of our Board of Education, the board of directors for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. I want to thank each of you for your attendance this morning and your interest in high school athletics. As a member of the board of directors for the past several years and now the board president, I just want to reflect on the hard work of our board of directors and school administrators and in particular, athletic directors. Over the course of the past year, statewide, a BS have worked tirelessly to clean, sanitized schedule, reschedule and plan for student athletes to have the chance to participate in sports this year. Their efforts were are what make the N. C. H s a possible, and their leadership has been a shining light in this pandemic. I want to shine the light. Also on the work of this year's board of directors, I have the pleasure to lead this group. Working with some truly dynamic professional educators and administrators, they've sacrificed time and effort on behalf of the membership. I believe that it's safe to say that this board of directors has met more often and devoted more time to the association business than any other board of directors in a single year. And the association is proud. 108 year history. The Covid 19 pandemic has required that level of sacrifice by each of us. And we've gladly given that I can't say enough about Commissioner Tucker and our Associates association staff. They are creative and innovative. Approach has been tremendous, especially since last spring. With those things said, I will highlight a few things about the N C. H s A that I have come to understand over the course of my years, serving on the board first, the N. C. H. S. A. Is a voluntary association of schools. It's not simply an office in Chapel Hill or our staff who worked in that office. All 421 member schools of the N C. H s A. Constitute the organization. Our member schools are represented by a board members based on their geographic region and classification. These persons are nominated each year and ultimately approved by the membership. Our association is student focused. Every endeavor of the N. C. H. S A is undertaken with the goal of benefiting student athletes at our member schools across the state, whether working in student services, sports and championships, or health and safety. The N C. H s. A. As an organization strives to put the necessary tools and training in the hands of those on the ground level, working with the student athletes in order to support and enrich the educational experiences of our students. Our association staff makes decisions in a thorough and thoughtful manner when applying the rules and regulations of the association's member schools. When board members hear appeals on the staff decision, they consider rules the situation and then determine whether or not the rule is applied fairly and just they also consider whether or not the rule as developed as having the intended effect board of directors do this on behalf of the membership. To keep the playing field, fair members govern other members. That is what happens when joining and participating in a volunteer organization like the N. C. H. S. A. Over the past several days, it's been disheartening and honestly infuriating to hear some of the comments that the members of our General Assembly have made about the NCHS A. Its governance and leadership of high school athletics in our state. These comments ranged from ill informed to just plain wrong to set the record straight. I want to unequivocally state that the N. C. H. S. A. Is not an organization devoid of oversight and is not lining the pockets of his staff and board members any a search can. Otherwise it's careless, uninformed and downright false. The board of directors provides regular oversight of the day to day operations of the N. C. H. S. A. The articles of Incorporation by Laws and Handbook regulations outlined the prescribed ways in which the association is to operate our board of directors, provides governance, provides guidance on organizational direction and oversight of budgeting, finance, investment and other organizational decisions. The staff meets measurable benchmarks for progress towards board action items and requests. They do so on behalf of the member schools we served. I want to be clear. Members of our board of directors regularly supervised and review the association's budget, investments and distributions to member schools. These items are approved by the board on behalf of the member schools that we served. Our association has ordered it once a year. And the board Here's a full audit report annually. The N. C. H. S A. Has an exemplary track record of fiscal responsibility and stewardship of the resources entrusted to us by its member scoops. Frankly, we are fortunate to have such resources and careless and careful leadership in our state. It has been suggested that the N C. H. S A. Is sucking money out of schools. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2010 and 11 board members looked at the growth and health of the association and its endowment, and it found more substantial ways to give money back to the member schools. In the 10 years since those decisions, the financial stewardship of the association board and staff has allowed the NCHS A to send more than $12.8 million back to member schools. Last year alone. In a year when we were unable to play the state basketball championships and our spring playoffs due to Covid, the association was still able to distribute more than $1.2 million to its member schools. Of that, $1.2 million over 400,000 was from the interest earned on the visionary endowment put in place by Charlie Adams and the NCHS, a board of directors. Another nearly $100,000 came from the the other association investments and $250,000 due to the N. C. H s A. Coming in under budget. This is a remarkable track record and one that, quite frankly, is not common in state associations across this country and closing. Let me just put to rest any questions as to whether or not R N. C. H s a member schools have received money from the $4 million allocation by the Board of directors for Covid Athletic Program subsidy or Caps program the board approved last December. The answer is absolutely yes, we have as a member school principal, I can assure you, assure you that it has been received and it is highly appreciated. While not all of the $4 million has been dispersed, association has distributed more than $2.4 million already with each member school. Whether offering a sport this this year or not receives a piece of the pie, the remaining dollars will be distributed at the close of this athletic year. That distribution will be based on a formula for the number of sports to school field it this year. The allotment is designed to help offset some expenses encouraged by participating in a year when spectator attendance has been limited or not allowed at all. We're fortunate to be in the financial position. We are as an association because of the stewardship of the association board on behalf of the member schools and the cooperation of schools to contribute to such a plan, high school athletics in North Carolina is able to weather this difficult storms that none of us could prepare for an arm in this way and many other ways. We, the N C. H s A are truly better together. Thank you Now to Commissioner Tuck. Thank you, President Simmons. And good morning. My name is Q Tucker and I am the commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, just as President Simmons did. I want to welcome you to this press conference and thank you for the important role that you, as the media play in telling the story of high school athletics in our state and in your communities. I want to thank President Simmons and Vice President Wilkins for their outstanding leadership throughout this very difficult year. Uh, a year in which we've tried to do everything we can to ensure that we have athletics. Over the past several weeks, we have withstood a barrage of public outcry relative to spectator limits. And in the past few days, we have witnessed legislative involvement in the business dealings and operations of the N C. H s A. This is unfortunate because much of what we have read and heard is inaccurate and does not accurately reflect the NCHS a and its mission. So please indulge me as these comments I'm about to make maybe a little lengthy. The N C. H. S. A. Is an outstanding organization currently made up of 421 outstanding member schools across the state. Their athletic programs are led by dedicated and hardworking administrators and coaches who care about their students and the communities. When people attack the N C H S A. They attacked not only the association staff but also the board of directors and each member school. We have heard legislative state that the NSA is not student focused. They have insinuated that the NCHS A has charged student athletes to play in our programs, taken cash and resources from our member schools, particularly the poorest of the poorest of schools, and that the N. C. H. S A. Does not have the credentials to make the decisions that we have been required to do during this pandemic. All of this is far from the truth. So I want to take this opportunity to refute some of the misinformation that has been shared of late by legislators and aired on radio shows or printed by you. The media. The NCHS A has never charged individual students fees for regular season and postseason competition, while the N C H s A. A does charge minimal membership dues for services that the Association provides to its member schools. Those fees have been authorized by the board of directors. The N C H S A. Does not take gate money away from its member schools, and it does not impact its poorest members by stripping them of their resources. The association does not receive any gate money during the regular season, with one exception. Currently, member schools are allowed to voluntarily schedule and contest one extra game per sport season above and beyond the season limitation, in which the association receives 25% of the gate revenue for that contest, schools keep the other 75%. The 25% is designated for the N. C. H s a endowment. This is a voluntary and extra regular season game. During the playoffs, the N C H S A takes a small percentage of gate revenue that is made in each round of the playoffs but still shares that revenue. With competing teams in the content all the way up to and through the state championship games now does the N. C. H s A need revenue to operate. Absolutely every organization does does the n. C. H s a unnecessarily put heavy burdens on its member schools financially. No, it does not. In fact, this year, when limited or no Spectators have been allowed by governors, Cooper's executive orders the association has not taken a share of revenues made for home games hosted by our member schools. This is only possible because of the solid financial position of the association and the commitment to measure and very meaningful stewardship about the board of directors. Some have stated that the association would not have provided the $4 million dispersement of board designated endowed funds that President Simmons talked about had the Legislature not pressured staff to do something for members stools. Actually, last summer, N. C. H s a staff began exploring ways to assist member schools during the pandemic. When the agenda for the board meeting was posted by November 1, it included a suggestion for a financial support dispersement. During its December 2nd and third meeting, board members reviewed those suggestions and settled on a $4 million dispersement. On November 18th. Staff did in fact receive an inquiry from a legislator asking the N. C. H s a A to consider some form of grant program for struggling athletic programs. But in fact, we already had in place such a grant program. I shared with that legislator that we financially supported our member schools in other ways. The Caps program that will distribute $4 million from the endowment back to member schools was already in the works prior to a senator requesting the association do something for member schools. So to suggest that the legislation that the distribution, um, was driven by a legislation a legislator is not factual. Since this is a press briefing, let me address the credentialing of the media. During the recently concluded state basketball championships, we forwarded to our member schools that would be participating in the state basketball championships, a procedure whereby they could credential media who had followed them throughout the regular season. They were given the option to have six MIT media in attendance at that contest, and once they designated those six individuals, then the NCHS A had a procedure in place whereby we allowed them to be able to attend the contest and at the same time followed the Covid 19 guidelines, as issued by Governor Roy Cooper. I'll pause there to say this the mission of the N C. H. S A. Is to provide governance and leadership that both enriches and supports the educational mission of the N C. H s A. Okay, we, as they have those educational opportunities, we understand the role of athletics in support of the educational, uh, mission of our schools. So we exist to support that we exist to enrich those opportunities. I have been with the association now for almost 31 years for almost 30 years, and if I thought that we were straying from that mission, I would not continue to do what I do. I believe that we have led under the guidance of our border directors in a way that is fair. It is equitable, and it provides unlimited opportunities for our students to participate in interscholastic athletics. We also are fortunate that we are able to also provide unlimited opportunities for leadership development. And so, with all of that in mind, I feel good about what the N. C. H s a has done is doing today and will do in the future. So at this time, our paws and take your questions. Just thank you, Commissioner Tucker. Uh, I will start the Q and A with a question from Bryan Hanks for commissioner Tucker. Did the NCHS a take out a PCP loan? And if so, how did the organization certified that economic uncertainty made that loan request necessary? Brian Yes, the NCHS at a did take out a P P. P loan. We did that just like every other state association across the country. And just to be clear, just about every other state athletic association in the country as a five Oh, one c three, just like we are with the staff we have with the bills that we incur to operate, Uh, that loan provided us the opportunity to continue to pay staff without laying off the staff and then to be able to operate so that we could find ways to get our students back into the playing arena as we move throughout the summer. And as you know, we did not have any spring sport championships. We did not have a state championship, so the finances that we typically would have received that go into our operating budget were not available last spring. So we did in fact apply for the loan. We received a loan. It was forgiven, with the exception of a small amount that we had to pay back. Thank you, Commissioner Tucker. Our next question will come from Caleb Talman, who works at Fetch your news sports up in the mountains. Uh, and this is for Commissioner Tucker or Jerry Simmons, or even for Bobby Wilson, Um, listed in the N. C. H S. A s core values and beliefs is fair play. It says the interpretative shared interpretation of the rules. The equal treatment of all concerns sticking to agreed rules and not using unfair advantages is something to be strolling for. With that said, how fair is it for one A schools to compete against charters and prep schools that have open enrollment where a so called lottery system. And then he mentions Winston Salem School District, uh, where they have prepping magnet schools that can pull from 55,000 students, while a Cherokee County, a traditional district, has about 2500 students. K 12 or Clay County has 1200 students K 12. What way would you all consider it to be fair and equitable treatment for those types of districts to have to compete against charter and prep schools from Winston Salem. So the one of one of my, uh, president, vice president, would you all like to take the lead on that? And then I can follow up? Well, let me say this First and foremost it is. Winston Salem is not the only school system in our state that has charter schools or magnet schools. There are several school system in our state with such schools. Now, one of the things that obviously hurts Winston Salem Prep is the fact that it has prep in its name, which, in and of itself just gives people the idea that it is a charter school. But that is a decision that the board of directors that the Board of Education for Winston Salem Forsyth County schools made as to what they would name that school. But that school is overseen by a board of education. Just as other school systems oversee their magnet schools, their specialty schools that allow students to play at one school while attending another school under the control of that Board of Education. Now it is very difficult for us to tell boards of education how to assign their students. We obviously leave that to the boards of education. We consider each charter school its own l E A. And so, in terms of the equity as it relates to where they play and whether you can draw from multiple schools within your school system, then certainly that is not something that the N C. H s a A can control itself. But we do have limitations and boundaries in place. That deal, let's say, with our charter schools as it relates to athletics moving from one charter school to another school once they have enrolled i