The GHSA made a move yesterday that is sure to send shockwaves through the high school sports landscape in the state of Georgia and especially here in Chattooga County.

The GHSA Reclassification Committee met yesterday at 10am via virtual meeting to vote on new classifications.  The committee is comprised of 19 individuals who set the classification for schools across the state.

According to the meeting minutes, there was substantial pressure from committee members representing private schools that a “multiplier” be applied across the board for all schools according to the number of students who reside outside of the school’s district.  This multiplier rule is especially harmful for city school systems, such as Trion and Gordon Lee where a large percentage of the students enrolled in the system do not reside inside the city limits where the school is located.  County School systems such as Chattooga were not as penalized by the multiplier as harshly since the vast majority of students in county school systems reside in that given county and have very few students that do not live in that respective school district.

As it stands currently, only private schools have the multiplier applied to their enrollments due to the built-in competitive advantages private school systems enjoy over public school systems.  However, several committee members wanted all schools across the board to have the multiplier applied to their enrollments instead of just private schools.  After much discussion, the committee voted 15-1 to apply the multiplier to all schools across the board.

The committee released new classifications and enrollment numbers that has stirred much controversy since it’s release yesterday.

Here locally, Trion City Schools, which has an enrollment of 381 students with 250 students residing out of district, would move out of Class A into Class AA with an adjusted enrollment of 881 students.  Approximately half of the school systems in the new Class AA have true enrollments of 900 to 1,000 students compared to Trion’s 381.  Trion would compete with schools that have more than double their enrollment due to the multiplier.  Other local systems that would compete in the new Class AA would be Model, Gordon Lee, Gordon Central, Rockmart, Haralson County, Pepperell and Darlington.

Chattooga, who has an enrollment of 677 students with only 18 students residing out of district, would have an adjusted enrollment of 713 and move from Class AA down to Class A.   Other local school systems in this new division would include Coosa, Armuchee and Dade County.

Schools will have the ability to appeal their classification and it is a surety that many of the affected systems will do just that.

You can read the minutes of the meeting and see the new classifications by clicking HERE