Hines, BOT recommend GHSA go back to six classes in 2024
Big changes are already coming to the landscape of the Georgia High School Association this fall when the new classifications go into effect, keeping eight total classes for member schools in the state, but combining public and private in the regular season and playoffs in Class A for the first time since they were split a decade ago.
However, as a result of an electronic GHSA Board of Trustees meeting this past Wednesday, even bigger changes may be on the horizon for the next reclassification cycle (2024-2026).
The meeting was held as a result of recent talks between state lawmakers and GHSA Executive Director Robin Hines. Hines has spent most of the past few weeks speaking with representatives in
Atlanta, looking to find a way to keep state legislators from passing SB 328.
The non-partisan bill was authored by nine state senators last month, including District 53’s Jeff Mullis, and would have dismantled the GHSA entirely in favor of a new governing body for high school athletics in the state.
The new organization would also have issued some dramatic changes on topics of eligibility and school zone boundaries, as well as give student-athletes “due process” rights, which they do not currently have under GHSA by-laws.
“Travel comes up time and time again,” Hines told the Board of Trustees (BOT) during the meeting. “And losing 17 schools [mostly to the GISA] did not help that issue. The other problem was the multiplier and how it is applied. I heard that over and over from state legislators. So I would like us now to commit to going back to six classifications the next time we reclassify, which will put more teams in each region and help with travel.
“Also, I would like to see us tweak the multiplier so that it does not affect students who enter a school system in elementary school.”
As a result, a motion was made and seconded to add an agenda item to April’s GHSA Executive Committee meeting in which the BOT “highly recommends” a return to six classes for the start of the 2024-2025 school year, while keeping the Class A Division 1 and Division 2 split, which goes into effect this August. This move, which Hines believes will help with travel concerns, was passed unanimously.
Another motion that passed unanimously in advance of
next month’s meeting was a BOT recommendation that “any student entering a feeder school of a high school in grades K-5 would NOT be counted as an outof-district student by any multiplier for reclassification purposes.”
Continuing on the subject of tweaking the multiplier, a motion was made for the BOT to recommend “allowing private and charter schools to select a public school service area within their county of residence that best represents their student population for reclassification purposes only (not for student transfer eligibility).” That motion also passed with a unanimous vote.
Two more motions passed unanimously.
The first one waived dues for member schools for the 2022-2023 school year. Hines said the GHSA would be cutting each member school a check for the amount of their dues and catastrophic insurance payment.
The final motion would be a constitutional change of adding a second private school member to the Board of Trustees itself due to the fact that member private schools would be losing eight representatives from the Executive Committee under the reclassification plan that the Committee adopted earlier this year for the 2022-2024 cycle.
Because this will be a constitutional change, it will require a second vote at least 30 days from today. That vote is slated to be held in May.