Hey Rich,
This is my first season straddling the IL/WI border. Amen to your thoughts.
I think a pay reduction is a good proposal. Perhaps suggest three for boys, remain at two for girls, with a climbing scale. Maybe the assignors could cut their percentage too.
The puzzler to me is why WI schools want to take the time to find refs for underclass games. It's my first area where that's the case. Making those games easier to assign could be part of the mix.
But then no one asks us.