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Political football heads to court photo by Jim Craven McLoughlin Middle School football players run onto the field during practice Friday. On Monday, a Jackson County judge will hear arguments in the case of an eighth-grader at Grace Christian School who was barred from playing football at McLoughlin because of a Medford School District policy that now faces a constitutional challenge. Judge will tackle school eligibility rules challenge By CHRIS BRISTOL Laurie Thorson thought she was doing the right thing, same as any other parent would. Her son, Ryan, is an eighth-grader at Grace Christian, a private school in east Medford. Because the school has no football team -- indeed, no fall sports at all for boys -- he tried to sign up last month to play at his neighborhood public school. But officials at McLoughlin Middle School turned him down, based on a district policy that excludes students from private schools. Bothered by what she perceived to be a form of discrimination, Thorson decided to appeal directly to the school board. And she asked attorney Lee Werdell to represent her at the meeting. In short order the board turned her down, her attorney filed a motion last week seeking an injunction against the district, and a Jackson County judge set the case for a hearing Monday. The case has attracted media attention from all over the state, and supporters have materialized from the woodwork. The Oregon School Activities Association is monitoring the outcome. All of this came as a rude shock to Thorson, a single mom who lives alone with her son in Jacksonville and can barely afford his tuition. Even though her feelings about the policy have not changed, Thorson says she never meant the case to go so far and is a little unhappy it has. All she wanted was a chance for her son to play. "And now, because I spoke up, look at what's happened," she says. "It's not about Ryan anymore." What it's about is whether students like Ryan who attend private schools -- specifically those in seventh and eighth grade -- have the right to play sports at public schools. They do, in grades nine through 12. The OSAA, which governs all high school sports, allows it. All 198 school districts in the state, including Medford, voluntarily honor the rule. And they do -- even in middle school -- if they receive instruction at home. A state law passed by the Legislature in 1991 specifically grants so-called home-schoolers the right. But no such luck for middle school students who go to private schools. The OSAA's jurisdiction is limited to high school. "It's where there's no protection," says Thorson. She still can't believe she was the first parent to challenge the policy, and says at this stage it's her attorney who is pushing the case. In a legal brief, Werdell's associate Susanne Whatley asserted the policy violates Oregon and U.S. constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law by allowing home-schooled students access to sports but not students from private schools. In fact, the OSAA rule allowing students from private high schools to play for their "resident home school" was adopted in part to ward off proposed legislation six years ago. The rule restricts participation to sports that their private school doesn't offer. Medford schools Superintendent Steve Wisely says he is confident the district's policy is legal. And it's appropriate, he says. The district has an obligation first and foremost to its students -- roughly 1,900 in seventh and eighth grade -- and to their parents. "We have every reason to believe this is what our community wants," he says, "and it's what the parents of the students who attend our schools want ... so that their kids will have every opportunity at the school in which their youngsters attend." Both Medford middle schools (McLoughlin and Hedrick) have no-cut policies, which means any youngster from that school who wants to play automatically makes the team. More than 150 McLoughlin students turned out for football this fall. The school has five teams. "I don't think you would appreciate it," Wisely says, "if your youngster turned out for a sport and then got cut, and then you went to look at that activity and found several nonstudents playing." The Medford policy stands in stark contrast to the policies of other districts in the Rogue Valley. The Ashland School District allows students from private school to play. So do Central Point, Eagle Point and Grants Pass. "We never cut anybody," says Tim Terry, who coaches four teams at Ashland Middle School. "Everybody's welcome to play. The whole idea is to get kids involved." Jim Nagel, who has coached Ashland High School to three Class 4A football state championships over the past decade and also serves as athletic director for the district, says students from private schools are more than welcome to play, in part because their parents are taxpayers. "We feel they pay taxes like anyone else," he says, "and consequently we allow (their children) the opportunity to participate like anyone else." But Wisely says the taxpayer issue is problematic because of the way schools are funded. After voters passed measures limiting property taxes, which historically formed the foundation of school budgets, the state began compensating schools from the general fund. Now, funding is heavily linked to enrollment. "It would be impossible for us to continue with the kinds of programs we have if we were to have a substantial number of kids who create no revenue," he says. "It really comes from enrollment, and the costs (of sports) are tremendous." Keith Ruska, who coaches football at Rogue River Middle School, agrees. The district generally allows students from private schools to play, but they're the first to go if cuts are necessary. "Schools are limited on funds, and ... you have have to draw the line somewhere," he says. "That's the way it goes. Not all is fair in life." Their arguments don't wash with Thorson, who notes that just because her son goes to private school doesn't mean she sees a corresponding decrease in her tax bill. "I don't get a voucher for Ryan," she says. "I have no say how the government spends my money." To her, the issue is simple. "He just wanted to play football," she says. "This is about children being rejected in any form. It shouldn't be allowed. "This should be about the child, not the money," she says. "This is just about a child wanting to play football." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA