(WHTM)– High school sports are huge in Pennsylvania and passions run deep. A lot of public schools are frustrated at what they call an uneven playing field.

They support State Rep. Scott Conklin’s bill that would create separate championships for traditional public schools which are called boundary schools – that is they have a defined district to draw players from and non-boundary schools that can get student-athletes from anywhere.

Unfair, Conklin insists. His bill would let teams play each other in the regular season but create separate playoffs to crown champions.

“Let’s think for the young kids that we have involved in our sports programs,” Pennsylvania Football Hall of Fame Coach Jim Cantafio said. “Give them an opportunity to compete for a state championship on a level playing field.”

PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi said they’ll follow the law but reminded that all schools were joined by law in 1972 so that all schools were treated equally. He adds it’s a misconception that all private schools recruit and no public schools recruit. It’s more about specific schools than “boundaries.”

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Producer Rachel Cherry crunched numbers for this year and out of the 59 team titles for PIAA championship- 25, nearly half were private or charter schools. In boys’ wrestling private schools swept both divisions. Only one public school won a state championship for girls’ basketball.

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