Private School Transfer Portal

paindonthurt

All-Conference
Apr 7, 2025
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Some people I guess just are more loyal to their kids than the high school mascot. To each his own. Everybody has different priorities. Put him on the bench and give the kid from Calloway free tuition to win 3 more games. Sure.
I’m sure sometimes it’s that but teaching your kid the team comes before yourself is a good life lesson.

Teaching your kid the best way to play is by getting rid of the top talent? Great life lesson!!
 
Jul 5, 2020
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At least on the surface, I agree. Sounds like there's a danger of a private school that has top academics diluting their reputation and standards to have a winning football team. I know nothing about Jackson Academy, but I assume it's an honest to goodness academic school that offers coursework not available at public schools, rather than a "segregation academy", and has entrance standards commensurate with high performing kids.
Well, it certainly was a segregation academy when founded. As was JP, MRA, Woodland Hills, Hillcrest, Canton Academy, etc. My uncle was in the first HS class at JA, and my aunt was in the first JP HS class, and their older siblings graduated from Murrah. It is what it is.
 
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Howiefeltersnstch

All-Conference
Dec 28, 2019
2,374
3,006
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I’m sure sometimes it’s that but teaching your kid the team comes before yourself is a good life lesson.

Teaching your kid the best way to play is by getting rid of the top talent? Great life lesson!!
Getting rid of ?? I thought we were discussing going and buying replacements.
 

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,444
18,867
113
Yeah, a smaller school where your kid has a higher chance of participating in plays/musicals/sports is absolutely something worth considering when choosing where your kids will attend school.

Being pissed that you paid 12 years of private education and your kid doesnt get to play on the HS football team or sits the bench?...nah, that is dumb.


One is simply considering odds and potential benefits. The other is feeling like paying for years of private schooling equals playing time in a sport at the end.
Those are, to me, very different.
I still would be upset as the parent of the kid being replaced.
 
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greenbean.sixpack

All-American
Oct 6, 2012
8,801
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I mean that’s what happens in life. People go find talent.
Another analogy, a guy I deployed with (Guard) built a great book of business selling lighting to health club chains, he built it from nothing to a great money maker for him and the company. When he left for the deployment, his boss gave that book of business to a buddy of the boss, when the deployed salesman got back, they didn't give him is book back, he had to start over. He was pissed, understandably.
 

mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
15,981
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I still would be upset as the parent of the kid being replaced.
OK. I deal with high school athletes daily, and therefore high school parents too. And I was also a parent of an athlete for the last 4 years.

Maybe I am jaded as a result, but a parent that is pissed or upset their kid isn't playing because someone recently transferred in, is just entitled.
I have little to no sympathy or patience for entitled parents.

Being at a school for a long time does not entitle a student to play or even be on a team.
Paying for tuition since preschool does not justify a parent being pissed their kid isn't on a team or in a play due to someone newer being better.



If parents want to guarantee their kid participate in an activity, then go the route of poopops' neighbor and buy the team.

Or more realistically, and genuinely better, talk the school administration into running an intermural league.
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,324
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Yep, and I find that to be crazy...but people spend their money how they want.
The goofy part really is being upset if it doesnt come to fruition. As if 'I have been paying since Gunnar was 4!' is justification for making a sports team in high school.
It's not that it's justification, but from the parents' perspective, extra curriculars are part of the deal with paying for private school. I'd be a little chapped if I was paying tuition and then they recruited people not paying tuition to take up spots in any extra curricular activities, whether it's sport or something else.
 

mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
15,981
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It's not that it's justification, but from the parents' perspective, extra curriculars are part of the deal with paying for private school. I'd be a little chapped if I was paying tuition and then they recruited people not paying tuition to take up spots in any extra curricular activities, whether it's sport or something else.
Maybe this is just something that's different between parochial schools where I live vs in MS.
There is 0 expectation of making a team, much less playing, at most of the private HS programs around me(football, volleyball, baseball, swimming, softball, basketball).
 

615dawg

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2007
6,633
3,592
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OK. I deal with high school athletes daily, and therefore high school parents too. And I was also a parent of an athlete for the last 4 years.

Maybe I am jaded as a result, but a parent that is pissed or upset their kid isn't playing because someone recently transferred in, is just entitled.
I have little to no sympathy or patience for entitled parents.

Being at a school for a long time does not entitle a student to play or even be on a team.
Paying for tuition since preschool does not justify a parent being pissed their kid isn't on a team or in a play due to someone newer being better.



If parents want to guarantee their kid participate in an activity, then go the route of poopops' neighbor and buy the team.

Or more realistically, and genuinely better, talk the school administration into running an intermural league.
But it’s not just about playing time. Some of these kids have paid tuition since K3 and these kids are coming in and not paying a dime.
 
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patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
56,772
26,116
113
This ain't travel ball though, parents pay $100k or more in tuition over the span of 12 years with the "understanding," at least for some, that their kid is going to play whatever sport.

At any of the "big 4" kids come and go and most parents likely realize there's much less of a chance their kid will have "guaranteed" playing time. At smaller schools, though like TCA, CA and ER, where there is less student turnover, some parents may believe their kids should play after spending 6 figures on tuition.

It doesn't effect me as my kids are out of school and went public, but i can see a parent being upset if they sent their kids to TCA or CA for 12 years, instead of Germantown or MC (where the academics are probably higher in AP classes) with the unwritten understanding that their kid would play sports.
If you’re paying that kind of money do your kid can play high school sports, I really have to question your priorities. Really if you live in a district with good public schools and you’re paying that kind of money for your kid to attend a private school I really have to question your priorities. It’s different if you live in a lot of the small counties in the Delta.
 
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patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
56,772
26,116
113
Well, it certainly was a segregation academy when founded. As was JP, MRA, Woodland Hills, Hillcrest, Canton Academy, etc. My uncle was in the first HS class at JA, and my aunt was in the first JP HS class, and their older siblings graduated from Murrah. It is what it is.
JA was founded in 1956 (give or take a year or 2). It was founded for academic reasons. Had nothing to with segregation. It’s still probably the best academic school of the “big 4” metro academies.
 

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,444
18,867
113
OK. I deal with high school athletes daily, and therefore high school parents too. And I was also a parent of an athlete for the last 4 years.

Maybe I am jaded as a result, but a parent that is pissed or upset their kid isn't playing because someone recently transferred in, is just entitled.
I have little to no sympathy or patience for entitled parents.

Being at a school for a long time does not entitle a student to play or even be on a team.
Paying for tuition since preschool does not justify a parent being pissed their kid isn't on a team or in a play due to someone newer being better.



If parents want to guarantee their kid participate in an activity, then go the route of poopops' neighbor and buy the team.

Or more realistically, and genuinely better, talk the school administration into running an intermural league.
To me, it's nothing to do with entitlement. It's everything that the mission of the school is to educate and partly the reason you chose that environment is for your kid to be able to participate in extra curricular activities. It's obvious the primary reason these kids are now attending JA. It's a fine line of being competitive athletically and I think JA crossed it on this one. No way those kids are recruited to come outside of athletics. And by all accounts, they were allegedly recruited.
 
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mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
15,981
5,825
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But it’s not just about playing time. Some of these kids have paid tuition since K3 and these kids are coming in and not paying a dime.

Tuition in 2nd grade pays for 2nd grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.
Tuition in 6th grade pays for 6th grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.

The schools have long provided 'scholarships' for kids that qualify based on different reasons and can't afford the education...right?...I have been under the assumption that this is the case. If it isn't the case, my mistake.

Parochials where I grew up were doing that since before I was born. Hoop Dreams from like '92 is about that very situation- St Joe's gets some city kids to play for them for free.

This 'issue' just doesn't seem new. If it is actually new, we'll I guess that could be justified frustration. But based on what I've read on SPS about the segregation academies for the last 20 years, recruiting and bringing in selected athletes who can't afford tuition isn't new.


This seems like complaining about being under a flight path when the airport existed before you bought the house.
 
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greenbean.sixpack

All-American
Oct 6, 2012
8,801
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If you’re paying that kind of money do your kid can play high school sports, I really have to question your priorities. Really if you live in a district with good public schools and you’re paying that kind of money for your kid to attend a private school I really have to question your priorities. It’s different if you live in a lot of the small counties in the Delta.
Concur, NWR and Brandon are great schools, but a lot of folks are spending $20k (?) yearly to send a kid to Hartfield. Friends of ours had a son that graduated Hartfield, we say them last year and they revealed that their son had been to rehab several times. I'm not sure hat private schools are as pure as some parent's expect. No doubt more pure than public schools, but not as pure as they think.
 

Bulldog45

All-Conference
Oct 2, 2018
1,202
1,748
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Tuition in 2nd grade pays for 2nd grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.
Tuition in 6th grade pays for 6th grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.
Yet we’ve got elementary aged kids/parents chasing high school coaches to the organizations they are affiliated with because they think it will give them a leg up when the time comes to try out for high school.
 

paindonthurt

All-Conference
Apr 7, 2025
3,807
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Another analogy, a guy I deployed with (Guard) built a great book of business selling lighting to health club chains, he built it from nothing to a great money maker for him and the company. When he left for the deployment, his boss gave that book of business to a buddy of the boss, when the deployed salesman got back, they didn't give him is book back, he had to start over. He was pissed, understandably.
And that certainly sucks but that’s why it’s a good life lesson.

I’d probably go and try to steal that book for another company who’d pay me for it.
 

paindonthurt

All-Conference
Apr 7, 2025
3,807
2,754
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I have little to no sympathy or patience for entitled parents.
Will Smith Reaction GIF
 

L4Dawg

All-American
Oct 27, 2016
10,275
7,131
113
Im just glad I have always lived in areas with great public schools. I went to one and my kid went to one.
 

Maroon13

All-Conference
Sep 29, 2022
3,601
3,694
113
Blocks... my kid plays VB. Basketball has priority over the gym. So VB has to practice in the am before school. So my kid will have first block VB and 3 blocks of school for her entire HS tenure. Every school day, practice, get sweaty, shower at school and then school. You can see this schedule takes a toll on people as the freshman players are always the greatest number and junior and senior players, are a much smaller number. Btw, basketball will never win a state championship at this school. Volleyball has won multiple state championships.

But with all that said, my two older kids went through the school and played a sport. Both of them finished the HS curriculum by fall
Of senior year and were taking dual credit classes their senior year.
 
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TheDawg-Pound

Senior
Dec 21, 2024
672
498
63
To J. A's credit they let kids who do not play sports go free if they have good academics. How the feel about that? I go to church with a lady who all four of her boys go free and they play not sports. They are really smart kis. Me personally could not see paying that kind of money to send my kids to private schools when I have really good public school. I go even further. I can see paying someone to do something I can do myself.
This isn't the same unless they are taking kids spots in the classroom.
Sports you lose some pt. Classroom it could help you out, tutoring. The only way it would really hurt you is if your child was going to be valedictorian.
 

Maroon13

All-Conference
Sep 29, 2022
3,601
3,694
113
Heritage did recruit all the best white football and basketball players way back in the day. Caldwell and Lee football rarely kept a good white player. Now heritage recruits anyone if they are good. It will be interesting to see how much longer heritage hangs on. Tbh, I haven't looked at their enrollment numbers.

Also it will be interesting to see the effect on the cities and towns of private schools recruiting "athletes" from anywhere. Will people in the future, say f it. I'm not living in Columbus city limits or Eastover or Fondren. "I have to live in Caledonia".... or Madison etc etc.
 
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TheDawg-Pound

Senior
Dec 21, 2024
672
498
63
This isn't the same unless they are taking kids spots in the classroom.
Sports you lose some pt. Classroom it could help you out, tutoring. The only way it would really hurt you is if your child was going to be valedictorian.
And I'm not saying kids shouldn't get scholarships/ fighting for one way or the other, just the comparison is flawed.
 

Bulldog45

All-Conference
Oct 2, 2018
1,202
1,748
113
So my kid will have first block VB and 3 blocks of school for her entire HS tenure. Every school day, practice, get sweaty, shower at school and then school.
Back in my day we had Jr. High football practice 2nd period. So for 3 years, practice in the heat and humidity in the middle of the morning. And no shower afterwards, no a/c in the locker room, and you’d hang that undershirt and practice jersey up in your locker today out for the next day.
 

SteelCurtain74

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2019
1,986
2,922
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Heritage did recruit all the best white football and basketball players. Caldwell and Lee football rarely kept a good white player. Now heritage recruits anyone if they are good. It will be interesting to see how much longer heritage hangs on. Tbh, I haven't looked at their enrollment numbers.

Also it will be interesting to see the effect on the cities and towns of private schools recruiting "athletes" from anywhere. Will people in the future, say f it. I'm not living in Columbus city limits or Eastover or Fondren. "I have to live in Caledonia".... or Madison etc etc.
There is a podcast called Tombigbee Tales by a woman named Shannon Evans (you can find it on Spotify and YouTube). Back in November and December she spent about 15 episodes discussing the goings on at Heritage Academy which also included information about the former head of MAIS. It was interesting but she did seem to have a bit of an axe to grind with the school. That's not to say her information was incorrect but there could be more to the story than what she presented.
 
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OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
12,258
11,331
113
I’m sure sometimes it’s that but teaching your kid the team comes before yourself is a good life lesson.

Teaching your kid the best way to play is by getting rid of the top talent? Great life lesson!!
Going and buying the best players isn’t exactly the best life lesson either. Last time I checked, that’s why all of you are so chapped about college sports. It’s a short cut.

But it’s definitely a reality lesson. Kids need to figure out which “teams” deserve loyalty and which ones don’t.
 
Dec 9, 2018
746
640
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Going out and buying players simply so a coach can pad his resume is wrong, no two ways about it. The parents should be pissed.

Unfortunately, this sort of the thing has been going on forever. When I was in high school, our coach was into taking bribes. If a parent owned a grocery, he got free groceries, Tire shop, free tires. Dentist, free dental care. Pharmacy, free drugs. Or just cash. So who got to play running back, quarterback, receiver? The kids with wealthy parents. Who got to play on the line?

Life lesson? Yeah, I guess. I still despise all those bastards.
 

Dawg Raid

Senior
Jun 14, 2021
488
851
92
My school was recruiting in the early 2000s, that’s why we won a 3 peat in 3 sports during a 3 year period
 

MSUDOG24

All-Conference
Mar 31, 2021
1,384
1,295
113
Back in my day we had Jr. High football practice 2nd period. So for 3 years, practice in the heat and humidity in the middle of the morning. And no shower afterwards, no a/c in the locker room, and you’d hang that undershirt and practice jersey up in your locker today out for the next day.
Wow, may I ask when your day was? As an old, this thread has been one "you must be kidding" after another. I've read all of the "travel ball" threads and been glad I've been out of the parenting business for a long time but had no idea sports had so polluted schools systems like this. Blocks/periods for sports?
 
Feb 19, 2013
1,244
371
83
Well, there are some benefits to private college prep schools. Our kid went to such a school for 13 years, then went to State free and double-majored, got paid to go to Tulane in grad school, got paid to go to Florida State, and went to UGa free.

The private tuition more than paid for itself.
Only if it he or she couldn't have accomplished the same thing through the public school system.
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,324
4,824
113
Maybe this is just something that's different between parochial schools where I live vs in MS.
There is 0 expectation of making a team, much less playing, at most of the private HS programs around me(football, volleyball, baseball, swimming, softball, basketball).
There's no expectation of playing (I'm not sure there are many private schools in Mississippi actually big enough that they feel the need to cut people, although maybe the ones recruiting do), and honestly I don't know anybody personally complaining about it because I don't run in those circles, but I would be shocked if parents that have been paying 10 years of tuition aren't pissed when their child who has been getting playing time loses it to somebody not paying tuition. Maybe I'm wrong though. At a place like MRA that was openly recruiting for years, at least for basketball, maybe it's a little easier to accept because you knew when your kid was in 1st grade that Duweese would always have one or two spots that would be taken by recruits (although I'm not sure if a lot of his recruits had their tuition paid; some of them I think he may have just convinced them it would be a good deal for their kids to move to MRA and be a star). Maybe it's no different when you are recruiting 6 players to play for 11 starting positions on each side of the ball. But I just wouldn't have any interest in watching or supporting it if I were a parent there.
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,324
4,824
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Tuition in 2nd grade pays for 2nd grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.
Tuition in 6th grade pays for 6th grade education and experiences. It doesn't pay for a future spot on varsity football.

You are missing a lot about how the vast majority of private schools in Mississippi operate. Most private schools in Mississippi provide a safer environment and better education at a lower per student cost than the nearby public school. Partly this is because they don't have special ed or buses, but a big part of it is that parents are doing more on a much more consistent basis. You are really paying financially and with your time (and often paying again financially beyond tuition) in order to keep the schools going at the level it is. It's asking a lot of parents to participate and give like that but also take the position that hey, your kid is an expendable part of the school community when it comes to athletics.

Admittedly, I'm not sure how much this dynamic applies at the 4 metro schools. They are not cash strapped in the same way as most private schools and at least JA and Prep don't spend less per student, even with all the advantages they have with respect to their student body. But I would suspect they probably still rely on a lot of parent involvement and it would be a bad thing for them if parents took the position of, this is a business deal and once I pay my tuition, I'm only doing more if it's a direct benefit to my child because they will jettison my child for someone not paying tuition or volunteering as soon as it benefits them. Maybe I just don't have enough experience with how the jackson schools operate though.

ETA: To correct statement about spending more per student. That's probably only applicable to JA and Prep. Doesn't look like it's applicable to MRA and Hartfield who may spend less per child, depending on what kind of endowment or outside giving they receive beyond tuition.


The schools have long provided 'scholarships' for kids that qualify based on different reasons and can't afford the education...right?...I have been under the assumption that this is the case. If it isn't the case, my mistake.

I think this is probably true for JA and Prep to an extent? I am suspecting that this has never been true for Hartfield or MRA unless it was a particular benefactor taking interest in a child? Just a wild guess on my part so welcome any correction from people involved with those schools.
 

mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
15,981
5,825
113
Blocks... my kid plays VB. Basketball has priority over the gym. So VB has to practice in the am before school. So my kid will have first block VB and 3 blocks of school for her entire HS tenure. Every school day, practice, get sweaty, shower at school and then school. You can see this schedule takes a toll on people as the freshman players are always the greatest number and junior and senior players, are a much smaller number. Btw, basketball will never win a state championship at this school. Volleyball has won multiple state championships.

But with all that said, my two older kids went through the school and played a sport. Both of them finished the HS curriculum by fall
Of senior year and were taking dual credit classes their senior year.
Basketball gets gym priority over volleyball...even though basketball isn't in season when volleyball is in season?
That is insane. There is 0 justification for that.
Why would basketball have gym priority in August - October when that isn't their season?...and presumably, multiple football players are practicing then and will also play basketball.

And the schools just expect coaches to be available during the first block of the day for practice? Do no coaches work normal office jobs?
The coaching shortage that exists around me would quadruple if coaches had to run practice from 8 to 930am or whatever 1st block is. Most coaches are teachers in the District at other schools, or work full time jobs outside the District.

This thread keeps getting crazier and crazier.
 

SteelCurtain74

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2019
1,986
2,922
113
You are missing a lot about how the vast majority of private schools in Mississippi operate. Most private schools in Mississippi provide a safer environment and better education at a lower per student cost than the nearby public school. Partly this is because they don't have special ed or buses, but a big part of it is that parents are doing more on a much more consistent basis. You are really paying financially and with your time (and often paying again financially beyond tuition) in order to keep the schools going at the level it is. It's asking a lot of parents to participate and give like that but also take the position that hey, your kid is an expendable part of the school community when it comes to athletics.

Admittedly, I'm not sure how much this dynamic applies at the 4 metro schools. They are not cash strapped in the same way as most private schools and at least JA and Prep don't spend less per student, even with all the advantages they have with respect to their student body. But I would suspect they probably still rely on a lot of parent involvement and it would be a bad thing for them if parents took the position of, this is a business deal and once I pay my tuition, I'm only doing more if it's a direct benefit to my child because they will jettison my child for someone not paying tuition or volunteering as soon as it benefits them. Maybe I just don't have enough experience with how the jackson schools operate though.

ETA: To correct statement about spending more per student. That's probably only applicable to JA and Prep. Doesn't look like it's applicable to MRA and Hartfield who may spend less per child, depending on what kind of endowment or outside giving they receive beyond tuition.




I think this is probably true for JA and Prep to an extent? I am suspecting that this has never been true for Hartfield or MRA unless it was a particular benefactor taking interest in a child? Just a wild guess on my part so welcome any correction from people involved with those schools.
You are correct that parental involvement is expected to a degree at Prep. That would include anything from working concession stands during athletic events to serving on the booster club to serving at a grade level in some capacity, etc.

If your child plays a sport, your concession stand duty would correspond to that sport. So for example a parent whose son is on the varsity football team would work the concession stand for a junior high or 7th grade game.

Financial aid is available and you have to apply each year. It is a third party vendor who makes the determination on who gets what and how much. Prep doesn't see any of the financials of the people applying, they are just told how much a student was awarded for the year. This system, to my knowledge, is also offered at the other three schools in the Jackson Metro. I know First Pres uses the same vendor for financial aid.

In addition, there are a few international students who attend. Tbh, I'm not sure if there is an organization that pays for their tuition or if they have any type of scholarship awarded. They live with host families while they are attending school.

There may be other scholarships based on need awarded but I'm not aware of them.

Football is the only varsity sport at Prep that doesn't cut players. Every other sport has tryouts.
 
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OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
12,258
11,331
113
but I would be shocked if parents that have been paying 10 years of tuition aren't pissed when their child who has been getting playing time loses it to somebody not paying tuition.
In reality, we would ALL be pissed, if it were our kid that got passed over. It's just dishonest at best to say we wouldn't and that we'd happily just 'accept' it for the almighty private school football glory. Nobody would like that.

It's still reality, though. And I still say the sadder reality is why they are trying so hard to win among the 4 team MAIS. That part is actually quite pathetic.