So by virtue of the recent ruling by the Third Court of Appeals, a lot of folks are saying that "we/TASO" lost! If you read between the lines, it gives TASO another vehicle in which to perfect its legal action against the UIL. The Appeals Court made no comment about or even bothered to mention the facts of the case. They only opined that the UIL as a state agency was indeed entitled to its plea of sovereign immunity. It furthermore pointed out that TASO could go forward with its legal action by naming the individual or individuals within the UIL who may have egregiously acted outside of the scope of their authority. I'm sorry: but I fail to see that this translates in any way into a loss, but much rather as just a legal course correction! Mr. Schumann's published Saturday comments from the Houston Chronicle seemed to be moreso upbeat and optimistic.
The next thing we know, we're given the dictum by TASO State that we are going to pursue this all from a position of negotiation with the UIL. We have been given a trump card by the Court and are failing to fully take advantage of it.
It is certainly not a well-guarded secret that the UIL is mired in some financial trouble of its own. That is why they are pursuing the officiating registration fees and increasing participation in the UIL playoffs. That translates into money in the bank for them; money that is sorely needed by them in order to stem the rising debt that has been incurred by the UIL. The lawsuit should duly go forward and name Breithaupt and Timmons as defendents as the Appeals Court suggested. This forces the "Dynamic Duo" into the deposition and the witness chairs to answer all of the hard questions that all of us in TASO would love to hear in their labored attempt to answer them. It could very well force the good UIL Dr. to try to possibly rely on the legal doctrine of
respondeat superior. To that end, the Good Dr. would have to say that he was ordered by "higher-ups" to pursue his course of action against TASO. In order to keep his rear out of hot water, he might just go there!
Under the Open Records Act, the financial records of both the UIL and the UT Department that houses it would certainly come into play. The Good UIL Dr. can't seem to keep his stories straight as it is. When the financial records from the UIL are subpoenaed and brought into light, what would make a reasonable man think that this would in any way improve the Good UIL Drs. memory? It just lays even more stumbling blocks before him.
If TASO absolutely must give in to the process of negotiation, they should do so from a logistical position of giving the UIL only so much time to adhere to our demands. Namely, they should be that the UIL would receive only a token registration of no more than $10.00 per official annually, and that would be for registering for one or twenty sports. I feel that the UIL should summarily dissolve the other officiating divisions that it has so recently set up and sign a statement to the effect that they are getting out of the officiating business on a permanent basis, and will make no further attempt to organize or even assign officials to any contest.
When putting itself into the unenviable position of having to negotiate with rattlesnakes, TASO needs to carry a big stick, a shovel, and a shotgun! And if we must negotiate, please make sure that Mr. Schumann is on the negotiation team. We must negotiate from a position of strength and not go into this seeking common ground with a known adversary whose agenda has been to stretch out our necks, cut our throats, and tell us how good it's going to feel! They should know by now and all too well, that TASO has the ability to squarely place them behind the 8-Ball. And if TASO loses, then Mr. Timmons can start with his stated crusade to go from door to door, if need be, in order to recruit the new officials to help the UIL in stemming the tide in the severe projected shortfall in the number of high school officials in the State of Texas!
