PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission executive director Gary Ray hopes to present updated enrollment numbers for the upcoming re-classification of schools in the state by November 19 at the SSAC Board of Directors meeting.
“I’m still awaiting numbers from the state department of education,” Ray said. “My goal is to have the classifications done, nobody hold me to this, but hopefully by our November meeting.”
The re-classification comes every four years for high schools in the state and the 2015-2016 academic year is at the end of the most recent four-year cycle.
After classifications are set, the next step will be setting up the new regions and sectional breakdowns around the state. Ray doesn’t expect the regional assignments to be fully completed until after he officially begins his retirement in January when Bernie Dolan takes over the position.
“It’s a big task,” Ray said of the re-classification process. “You never make everyone happy – the (school) at the bottom of the numbers (in each class) is not going to be happy. But someone is going to be at that bottom number.”
The SSAC proposes the re-classification numbers to the board of directors, which then will make the final call collectively on where the numbers should fall at their meeting.
“The board makes the final determination of where the break will be,” Ray said. “We will make some recommendations, but that’s all they are. There have been times that they (take all the recommendations) and there have been times where they didn’t quite feel good with all of the recommendations.
“Keep in mind that the board of directors will not know what the schools are for each (enrollment) number,” Ray continued. “They only receive the numbers in descending order. The only ones who will know the names of those schools will be myself and Bernie (Dolan). But we still have to wait until we have (all) of our certified numbers before we can make a final determination.”
The complete interview with Ray is posted above.