Ma officials??

[ma_ref]

At our board meeting the other day, we were told the complaint was file Friday (12/5), and that the judge will hear the issue on Thursday morning. Not sure if this means that the judge will issue a ruling then also. We were asked to go and show up at the courthouse on Thursday to show our support on the matter, but I suspect that'll be tough for most people that hold day jobs.

Question: Anybody know who's paying for the legal services of the lawyer representing the state IAABO boards? I've got a feeling I already know the answer, given that most of the individual boards whose members I've spoken with haven't had their dues rate set this year yet...

[Jburt]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

Question: Anybody know who's paying for the legal services of the lawyer representing the state IAABO boards? I've got a feeling I already know the answer, given that most of the individual boards whose members I've spoken with haven't had their dues rate set this year yet...

it is my understanding that your feeling is correct. the state board has asked for a contribution from each member that wants the issue brought to court. if every official agrees it will be something on the order of $5. This was mentioned at one of our first meetings in October, so I'm not sure if it is still true or not.

[ma_ref]

Originally Posted by Jburt

if every official agrees it will be something on the order of $5.

Something I very, very, very much doubt.

So from how you describe it, it almost sounds voluntary. What happens if the contributions don't add up to the lawyer's actual charged fee? Who makes up the difference? Or is the lawyer more or less doing this as some kind of favor, and will just accept anything that the officials think is fair? Sorry for the questions, but my board has mentioned nothing at all about paying this lawyer, or the possibility of dividing the fee amongst the membership.

More to the point, if we are successful with arguing this issue before the judge, what if the MIAA decides to appeal the ruling? That's gotta mean more time, money, and expenses for our lawyer. Glad the individual board's state representatives thought this through and decided to check with their membership before moving forward.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, and I'm not complaining about spending 5 bucks or whatever, just upset about this in principle. Another reason this whole thing stinks going on 1 and a half years now with no resolution in sight.

[mick]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

Something I very, very, very much doubt.

So from how you describe it, it almost sounds voluntary. What happens if the contributions don't add up to the lawyer's actual charged fee? Who makes up the difference? Or is the lawyer more or less doing this as some kind of favor, and will just accept anything that the officials think is fair? Sorry for the questions, but my board has mentioned nothing at all about paying this lawyer, or the possibility of dividing the fee amongst the membership.

More to the point, if we are successful with arguing this issue before the judge, what if the MIAA decides to appeal the ruling? That's gotta mean more time, money, and expenses for our lawyer. Glad the individual board's state representatives thought this through and decided to check with their membership before moving forward.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, and I'm not complaining about spending 5 bucks or whatever, just upset about this in principle. Another reason this whole thing stinks going on 1 and a half years now with no resolution in sight.

Miichigan High School Athletic Association recently used some sort of Legal Insurance to contest a court question.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

What happens if the contributions don't add up to the lawyer's actual charged fee? Who makes up the difference?

My guess is the state board will have to pay the difference. Of course, the state board's only income is from the local boards. So, each board might have to pay some sort of assessment fee or something to cover the costs.

Glad the individual board's state representatives thought this through and decided to check with their membership before moving forward.

Your individual board's "state reps" are your elected president, as well as your elected vice president or secretary. You voted for those folks and they represent you on the state board. Perhaps they should have given your local membership more info, or maybe your executive committee simply voted to pay the $5/member out of discretionary funds.

Another reason this whole thing stinks going on 1 and a half years now with no resolution in sight.

I agree that it's gone on too long. That is partly the fault of the state board, to be sure. But I think a resolution is now in sight, for better or for worse. Certainly by the tournament, we'll know 100% what the court's final decision is (even if there is an appeal, which I am hopeful will not happen).

[Jburt]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

Something I very, very, very much doubt.

So from how you describe it, it almost sounds voluntary. What happens if the contributions don't add up to the lawyer's actual charged fee? Who makes up the difference? Or is the lawyer more or less doing this as some kind of favor, and will just accept anything that the officials think is fair? Sorry for the questions, but my board has mentioned nothing at all about paying this lawyer, or the possibility of dividing the fee amongst the membership.

More to the point, if we are successful with arguing this issue before the judge, what if the MIAA decides to appeal the ruling? That's gotta mean more time, money, and expenses for our lawyer. Glad the individual board's state representatives thought this through and decided to check with their membership before moving forward.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, and I'm not complaining about spending 5 bucks or whatever, just upset about this in principle. Another reason this whole thing stinks going on 1 and a half years now with no resolution in sight.

my understanding is that if EVERY official agrees it will be on the order of $5. If every official doesn't agree then the fee will be divided amongst the officials who agree to pay a fee. I DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE if this is/will be the case. but it is something that I have heard. it doesn't really seem fair that only some officials would pay the fees for others who elect not to and the result would benefit everybody.
I also believe the lawyer is a mass IAABO member.
And there needs to be some resolution soon.

[BayStateRef]

At our interpretation meeting last month, the board secretary had the "I can't stay for the handshake" forms. I asked for 20 -- one for each varsity game on my schedule. He thought I was joking. I was not.

I discussed this issue with one of my assignors. He said he did not care what we did...only that the crew did the same thing. If one guy was not going to stay, no one is to stay.

[ma_ref]

Originally Posted by BayStateRef

I discussed this issue with one of my assignors. He said he did not care what we did...only that the crew did the same thing. If one guy was not going to stay, no one is to stay.

This is what I'm afraid is going to happen if the pghs has to stay. Let's say we have a varsity game with veteran official with 30+ years experience paired with a younger official (maybe 8-9 years total exp; 3-4 years varsity exp). Younger official is steadily improving, and moving up, looking to possibly snag his first post-season tourney game at the end of the season. Veteran official is dead set against sticking aroung for pghs and does not stay at the end of the game. What does the younger official do? If he stays, he looks bad in the eyes of his fellow officials. If he leaves, he can kiss post-season assignments bye-bye (for this year and probably for a few years to come...if not longer).

We can only hope the judge rules in our favor...otherwise it's going to get a lot uglier before it gets better...

[BayStateRef]

From the Boston Herald:

The Mass. State Board of Officials (MSBOA) is seeking an injunction to the requirement that its members stay on the court to observe the postgame handshake following a high school basketball game. The MIAA was served with papers this weekend ordering it to appear in Worcester Superior Court on Thursday morning to address the issue.
“It’s a safety concern,” said Bob Grady, the president of MSBOA. “Our own rule book tells us not to stay on the court after the game. We’re not trying to be the bad guys here.”