A petition circulating among Ohio school administrators as of Tuesday, Sept. 15, asks the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) to hold separate state tournaments for public and private high schools, WCPO reported.

Organizers need at least 75 principal signatures by December to place the question on the May 2027 ballot. Only principals can sign. If the measure reaches the ballot and passes, the split would take effect in the 2028-29 school year.

The petition drive is led by superintendents, principals and athletic directors from Northeast Ohio's Suburban League. The topic came up at an OHSAA regional administrator meeting at Princeton High School in Sharonville on Sept. 15, the last of six such meetings to open the school year.

The OHSAA's 812 member high schools include 691 public schools and 121 non-public schools. Only four or five other states run separate public and private tournaments, according to the OHSAA.

Similar petitions failed in membership votes in 1978 and 1993. Renewed discussions in the late 2000s led to a competitive balance system, approved in May 2014 and implemented in 2017-18, that adjusts tournament-division placement based on actual roster composition.

Lakota East and Lakota West principals would each cast a vote if the referendum qualifies for the May 2027 ballot. Whether any Lakota-area administrators plan to sign the petition is not yet known.

Organizers face a December deadline to collect the 75 signatures needed to place the question before member schools.