Louisiana Officials Possible Strike?

[Rich]

This part of the article is good, too:

Some principals cited economic issues, which have led to lagging attendance, as one reason the pay hikes were voted down. That vote, coupled with the passage of a proposal by Glueck on behalf of Baton Rouge principals that would require basketball officials associations to provide two-person crews instead of previously mandated three-person crews for nondistrict and tournament games has complicated the issue.

“It’s tough for me, because I’ve been on both sides of this,” Alexander said. “I’ve been and official and I’ve been a principal, too.

“During the last 15 years or so the level of play for boys and girls basketball has improved. The players today are more athletic and the game is faster. The idea behind a three-man crew is to compensate for that.”

Bastrop’s Bryan Greenwood, president of the Louisiana High School Officials Association, said going from three-person to two-person basketball crews — even for some games — leads to a deeper issue.

“If basketball officials wanted to make more money, they could go call middle school or youth league games and do that,” Greenwood said. “Most of us call high school games because we love doing it.

“By the same token if you hire a plumber you can’t tell him, ‘Sorry, I can’t afford to pay you as much as other the other plumbers out there.’ ”


If officials make more money working middle school and youth league games, then the schools need to sit back and realize they simply don't pay their officials well enough.