A statewide petition circulating among Ohio high school principals seeks to split public and private postseason tournaments, a change that would directly affect Anderson, Turpin and Mariemont.
Organizers need 75 principal signatures by December to place the referendum on the May 2027 ballot, WCPO reported Sept. 15. If the full membership approves it, separate public and private state tournaments would begin in the 2028-29 school year.
The petition comes from superintendents, principals and athletic directors in Northeast Ohio's Suburban League. The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) discussed the effort at a regional administrator update meeting Sept. 15 at Princeton High School in Sharonville, the last of six such meetings to open the school year.
What it means locally
Anderson, Turpin and Mariemont are all public schools. Under the current system, they share postseason brackets with private and parochial programs that can draw students from wider geographic areas. A separation would guarantee public-only state tournament paths in every sport.
Anderson High School athletic director Chris Newton addressed the competitive balance formula in a July Raptor Report article about Anderson's division placements. Newton said competitive balance "balances up schools that get kids all over the city and schools that get kids just from their attendance zone."
Anderson, with an enrollment of 1,166, operates under closed enrollment, meaning its athletes must live within the attendance zone. Turpin, also in the Forest Hills Local School District, faces the same restriction. Mariemont High School serves the Mariemont City School District, covering the villages of Fairfax, Mariemont, Terrace Park and surrounding areas.
Previous attempts
This is not the first push to separate. OHSAA members voted down similar petitions in 1978 and 1993. Discussions in the late 2000s led to a competitive balance committee in January 2010, and member schools approved the competitive balance system in May 2014. That system adjusts tournament division placement based on actual rosters rather than enrollment alone. It took effect in the 2017-18 school year.
The OHSAA has 812 member high schools: 691 public and 121 non-public. Only four or five other states separate public and private state tournaments, according to the OHSAA. Ohio ranked third nationally in high school sports participation in the 2025-26 school year with nearly 350,000 student-athletes, trailing only Texas and California.
How the vote works
Only principals can sign the petition. Organizers need five signatures from each of the OHSAA's six athletic districts to reach the 75-signature threshold. If they hit that mark by December, every member high school's principal votes during the May 1-15, 2027, referendum window. OHSAA rules require every member school to cast a ballot.
No public response from OHSAA executive director Doug Ute or spokesman Tim Stried about the petition has appeared in published reporting as of Sept. 15.
