AUGUSTA -- House Minority Leader Josh Tardy, R-Newport, said the Maine Principals' Association overstepped its bounds in a recent proposal to cut high school exhibition games and eliminate trips to New England events.

Tardy submitted a bill last week to limit the MPA's authority over high school athletics. The organization will consider a proposal next week to cut high school athletic seasons, limit exhibition games and prohibit New England competition -- all cost-cutting measures in the current economic downturn.

The principals also proposed to cut the number of post-season tournament teams from two-thirds to one-half. If passed, cuts in regular season games as well as the tournament field would take effect this spring.

The remaining proposals would take effect at the start of the 2009-10 school year.

"I think we'll have strong support," Tardy said of his bill, titled "An act to limit the jurisdiction of the MPA over high school athletics."

With more than 2,000 bills to consider this legislative session, it may take awhile before Tardy's gets a hearing, but he expects a lively debate. Tardy, whose brother Jason is the athletic director at Nokomis Regional High School, said he's heard from several athletic directors in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

"I would guess that the KVAC athletic directors are unanimously opposed to many of the proposals," he said. "If they do support it, I'd like to hear from them publicly."

Dick Durost, the MPA's executive director, said the impetus for his organization's proposed cuts came from school superintendents and principals. He said more than three-quarters of the 50 high schools he's heard from favor the proposal.

"They say, 'We don't like it, but we support it 100 percent,' " Durost said recently.

Tardy is specifically concerned with the cutting back of exhibitions, or so-called noncountable games, as well as eliminating trips to New England competition. Under the MPA proposal, noncountable games would be cut to two, which effectively would eliminate some preseason tournaments as well as holiday tournaments.

"I would respectfully suggest they ought to allow local schools and athletic conferences to oversee ways for savings," Tardy said.

Most of the athletes who travel to New England competition already pay their own way, given that all but a couple of the competitions are individual sports. Many use it as a means to showcase their talent to college coaches. Tardy also disputes the claim of savings that would result from cutting noncountable events to two per season.

"A lot of schools use these games to make money," he said. "The notion that cutting back the so-called noncountable games as a fiscal measure is incorrect."

An issue of fairness also has arisen during the debate on the proposal, and the MPA has decided that the rules should apply equally to every school and district regardless of the ability to afford them.

"I find it ironic they say one size fits all," Tardy said, "when they say one size can't fit all when it comes to school consolidation."

Cutbacks on regular-season schedules and tournament fields are not specifically addressed in Tardy's bill, but he said it could be amended to reflect those concerns, too.

The Newport legislator said he supports the need for a body to oversee high school athletics, but added that "there are some decisions best left to the community."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com