NMAA to examine 12 appeals to classification, alignment changes

The classification and alignment process in New Mexico hit a detour Wednesday.

How it will finally end is still to be determined.

The New Mexico Activities Association’s board of directors tabled final approval of the classification and alignment plan for the two-year block that begins with the 2018-19 school year after hearing appeals from 12 schools. Among the group are appeals from Santa Fe Indian School and Pecos, and Pecos Superintendent Fred Trujillo said part of the issue the board encountered is the trickle-down effect any action could have on the overall plan.

“If one school moves, there is a ripple effect,” Trujillo said. “I think they should take time with it. They’ve already put in time and effort into the process. I think it will take more than just a couple of hours to make those decisions.”

The NMAA released its summary of the meeting, indicating that an exact date and time for another appeals meeting had not been finalized but will take place before the end of the year.

Pecos appealed to move into the district that houses Monte del Sol, Academy for Technology and the Classics, Tierra Encantada, Desert Academy and McCurdy. Currently, the NMAA placed the school in a district with Clayton, Logan and Santa Rosa, which Trujillo argued puts stress on Pecos’ budget and forces students to miss more classroom time.

Trujillo pointed out one of the potential effects of the appeals is Logan, which petitioned to drop to 2A. It could leave the district with just three teams with Pecos possibly moving on, as well.

Meanwhile, SFIS appealed its placement in Class 4A in all sports besides football, as SFIS athletic director Eric Brock contended that boarding schools were swept into the nonpublic school multiplier even though it and Fort Wingate believe they do not benefit like private schools do in athletics.

“If the multiplier is designed to give some way to even the waters with those private schools that [the NMAA] feels have an advantage,” Brock said, “us and Wingate got caught in the ripple effect because we don’t fit in the same mold as the private schools.”