By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Students, parents, coaches and administrators went before legislators Thursday asking them to intervene on their behalf and force the Maine Principals’ Association to allow the state’s cross country teams to compete in the annual New England meet.

The Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs heard more than two hours of testimony on L.D. 1130, a bill introduced by Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, that would override an MPA rule that prevents Maine high schools from sending teams to the New England competition. Maine sends its top 25 individual runners to the annual meet, but is the only state besides Massachusetts that does not send teams.

“My frustration is that we’re denying young athletes in Maine an opportunity to go to this New England meet,” said Nutting, who has two sons who competed in high school cross country. “It’s my opinion that there’s more college scholarships given to Maine cross country runners than all other high school sports combined. Most of those college coaches…go to the New England meet.”

Since 2002, MPA members have voted on three proposals to send teams to New Englands. Under the proposals, Maine would send its top six teams and its top 25 runners based on state meet results.

The first proposal was voted down, 84-0. The second was sent back to the MPA’s Interscholastic Management Committee for a recommendation. In September, 2004, that committee voted unanimously recommending against team participation. Two months later, the MPA membership agreed, by a 36-29 vote.

MPA Executive Director Dick Durost admitted that support for sending teams is growing, but added the supporters need to change the minds of MPA members and get them to vote in their favor, not seek help from the Legislature.

“Our point today is not about whether or not teams should be permitted to participate,” Durost said. “Our point is that the member schools, through their policies that are in place, should determine this by a majority vote, not the legislature.”

“Will legislative involvement in this issue simply open the door for anyone who does not agree with an MPA policy to request legislative intervention?” he added. “We believe principals are best qualified to deal with these issues collectively…We also hope the Legislature agrees with us and does not wish to become an appeals board for the Maine Principals Association.”

Durost said MPA members are concerned about the costs of sending teams to New Englands and the travel time and lost school time that athletes, particularly those in northern Maine, would have to endure when the meet is held in the far reaches of New England.

Students and coaches from Edward Little, Lisbon and Mt. Blue pointed out that the proposed bill leaves the decision to send a team entirely to local school officials and does not require public funding for the trip. They also told the committee of the benefits of sending teams to New Englands, including more exposure and unique educational and competitive opportunities for runners.

“Every other team in New England is doing it,” said Edward Little coach Dan Campbell. “They bring six teams to New Englands. They raise their own money. It’s not an issue.”

“I think it would have been a great experience for the team to go,” said Lisbon senior Dan Suthers, who led his team to the Class C state championship last fall but had to compete as an individual at New Englands. “Everyone on the team would have had the experience of running in a larger meet. And there are a lot of college scouts there looking for us. When I was out walking the course, I ran into quite a few.”

Mt. Blue coach Kelley Cullenberg said it’s deflating for the individuals who qualify for New Englands to leave teammates behind, and added that “being at New Englands as a team is an honor athletes here deserve.”

The MPA is scheduled to hold its annual spring meeting later this month. Durost said the issue is not on the meeting agenda but he expects it to be raised under other business.

Sen. Elizabeth Schneider, D-Orono, asked about the MPA’s willingness to hear testimony from athletes at the meeting and wondered whether its members were hearing from supporters of the proposal.

“I don’t think that they’re informed and I think if they were informed, they might open up this opportunity,” she said.

The committee will hold a work session on the bill that had not yet been scheduled at the conclusion of Thursday’s hearing, but some committee members questioned whether the Legislature should get involved at all.

“It sounds very much to me like the remedy is with this association (the MPA),” said Rep. Jacqueline Norton, D-Bangor. “I don’t know what pressure we can bring to bare on this.”