New reclassification plan approved by GHSA executive committee in routine - with good news -meeting, superb financial shape
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The executive committee meetings of the GHSA are increasingly less and less dramatic, even on some reclassification years.
Monday, a representative from every region in the state as well as at-large picks met in the Marriott City Center, and spent less than an hour discussing the association’s business, including reclassification.
That entire topic lasted barely 10 minutes, with the committee approving – as expected, with votes down “party” lines, as expected – the reclassification committee’s proposal for a 3.0 multiplier be attached to out-of-zone students for the 2022-24 years.
That means every student not in a school’s official zone counts as three students.
It passed 56-15 with three abstentions, with no debate from the faction it unofficially targeted, the bigger private schools, and by simple association, all private schools as well as some other schools with more open district requirements.
The other part of the proposal that made many unhappy is that a school can be bumped up any amount of classes from what the enrollment numbers with the multiplier indicate. Previously, no school would be pushed into Class 7A.
What did remain the same as in the last two-year reclassification is that the multiplier would not push any Class a school out of Class A. Thus, none of the Macon Big Four – FPD, Mount de Sales, Stratford, and Tattnall – would be affected by the change.
The process includes appeals and won’t become the rule of the land for a few more months.
Sunday’s gathering of the reclassification committee, with about 30 onlookers, had some lather to it, though.
Oconee County athletics director Curt Miller headed the group, and the debate mostly involved Trinity Christian athletics director Chris Hanson, Mary Persons principal Jim Finch, retired Marist AD and new GISA commissioner Tommy Marshall, Fulton County athletics director Steven Craft, GHSA president Glenn White, and Savannah Christian athletics director Julie Jones.
The focus of discussion was on the multiplier, after previous meetings dealt (links below) with – and eliminated – a variety of proposals, including regarding competitive balance.
The public-school faction noted that even with the multiplier of 2.0 for the 2020-22 period, the private schools that moved up a class or more still had similar success.
Hanson, AD at a Class A school that won’t be affected by the changes, was the most vocal opponent of the 3.0, of no limit to how many classes a school might move up once the multiplier was instituted.
He wanted the committee to consider allowing private schools to implement the competitive balance proposal – the ultra-successful private school programs would move up in class in their most successful sports if determined to be somewhat dominant, meaning a school could have different sports in different classifications.
“We've got a good proposal on the table from the private schools with the competitive balance that only deals with their schools,” Hanson said. “They're willing to trailblaze it to see if it works. Why are we scoffing at that and going straight to a 3.0 multiplier?”
He tried to sway some people to putting off the 3.0 after only two years of a 2.0 multiplier. He noted the addition of a public school’s service zone for private schools to additionally cut down on major influxes of out-of-zone students.
Marshall sought some patience as the nation moved away from COVID-related issues, but the current reclassification – which included further segregation Class A, with public-school regions and private-school regions – was debated and proposed in the fall and early winter of 2019, before the pandemic hit.
Hanson, also citing COVID, suggested that the new service-area plan could alleviate many concerns.
Jones brought up the safety issue, which Marshall and Hanson also noted, of potentially moving up three or four classes, or suddenly being in 7A.
Hanson asked that the group put aside the primary issue and look at the multiplier and moving up many classes as a parent.
“When you got your son or daughter who are in athletics, and all of a sudden, you want them to go up three classifications?” he asked. “You're fine knowing maybe your son or daughter's not the greatest of athletes, now you're going to put them in harm's way safety-wise?”
White took offense.
“My priorities would be all students in the state of Georgia,” he said. “And I want 'em all to be safe. I don't care if they go to school at Marist or (another school).
“I want you to know that, because that kind of bothers me a little bit that you think we're not concerned. I think everybody on this committee is concerned about safety of all kids, no matter where they go, no matter if they're Catholic or Protestant or whatever.”
Finch again noted the success of the private schools that moved up the last time, and the Georgia Athletic Directors Association all-sport rankings.
“You just go back and look at all those years, you'll see schools that had been as low as Single A and now they're in Triple A and Quad and Five,” he said, “and they’re still doing the same stuff.”
When it was brought up about teams in sports other than football being sacrificed, so to speak, Finch reiterated that the success of the private schools that led to the current debate involved more than just football.
Craft pointed out how the larger private schools regularly played with and had success against much larger public schools. He and Finch noted how many communications they get about the ability for private schools to draw from large area while public schools are limited to specific zones., and how the private schools’ success rate remains high.
Finch also noted a few times that the moves were to deal with all schools that had different zone requirements – if any – than public schools.
“We've played against schools that have advertised how many counties their students come from,” he said. “You've got one school in a county drawing students jut from that county, and you're going up against schools that can draw kids from 10, 15.
“That’s a safety issue.”
White reminded all involved of one simple thing in the process.
“Any school that feels like, 'Y'all moved us too far, y'all put us in the wrong place,' appeal back to this committee,” he said. “This committee has approved those appeals, not all, not going to approve everything.
“But if you’ve got a legitimate situation, and we'll go back to, you have 500 kids show up for the band and none of them play in athletics, that's something the committee should consider in your appeal.
“’Here’s why I shouldn't be here.’ It needs to come back to this committee.”
After appeals – the majority of which overall were approved last time– the executive committee made the new two-year plan official on Dec. 19, 2019.
The first reclassification meeting for this round was in August, followed by one on Sept. 16 and Sept. 27, as well as the one on Sunday.
The GHSA bid an official farewell Monday to associate director Tommy Whittle, who had retired last summer. He joined the GHSA office in 2013 after 16 years in the GISA and a highly successful coaching career.
Executive director Robin Hines reported that the GHSA again was going to be able to waive membership dues, and a variety of positive fiscal issues led the association to return money to member schools.
Between a major increase in use of the GoFan ticketing process and more schools using the National Federation of High Schools streaming video, the association welcomed more revenue.
And new agreements could lead to more big chunks of revenue.
White said he had a goal for the day, and was able to meet it, by about 10 minutes.
“I made a commitment before we got started this morning,” he said. “One hour. One hour, and I’m a few minutes ahead. With that being said, I’ll take a motion and a second to adjourn.”