A pair of significant proposals passed that could alter slightly to significantly the landscape of high school sports statewide in a special WVSSAC Board of Control meeting Thursday at Stonewall Resort.
Thirty-one proposals were ultimately condensed to 13, with two passing — one on a vote of 94-25 in favor of reclassifying schools every two years as opposed to four starting at the end of the second school month in 2025 and every odd-numbered year thereafter, and the other on a vote of 75-59 to tweak what factors into enrollment, eliminating the location score component and altering the socioeconomic status factor to include direct certified numbers from the state department of education.
“They’re thinking enrollments are in such fluctuation and four years is a long time,” said Wayne Ryan, WVSSAC Associate Executive Director. “Because of that, they think every two years is a more accurate count, because enrollment can change so fast in a year or two.”
Ryan noted 135 principals from various high schools and middle schools were on hand and given the chance to vote on proposals. Differences in vote totals stem from decisions to abstain.
“A lot of good discussion and good representation from our schools,” Ryan said. “It was an interesting day to see the democratic process at work.”
As for what passed put in place by Spring Valley principal John Hayes and heavily influenced by SVHS athletic director Tim George, it calls for the removal of location score factoring into enrollment. That currently comes by calculating a school’s distance from a city with a population of 10,000 or more.
Additionally, the modified enrollment that would be used to determine classifications statewide would consist of a school’s enrollment minus students receiving direct certification services multiplied by 0.5. (An example for a school with an enrollment of 1,000 of which 300 students receive direct certification would be 300 x 0.5 equaling 150, which would be subtracted from 1,000 for a modified enrollment of 850.)
Both proposals would not factor in until next school year.
Any proposal passed by the Board of Control has to be approved by the state board of education, which puts it up for public comment.
The next step would then be a review from the Secretary of State Office for a 60-day window, before going into effect.
The proposal calls for Class AAAA to consist of schools with a modified enrollment of 900-plus, Class AAA to consist of schools with a modified enrollment of 500-899, Class AA to consist of schools with a modified enrollment of 250-499 and Class A to consist of schools with a modified enrollment of 249 and below.
By current enrollment, that would leave only 16 schools in Class AAAA, as is the case for football. Other sports with a four-class system include basketball, volleyball, cheer, baseball and softball.
In August, 22 high schools were classified for football only in 2024, and nine schools moved from Class AAAA to Class AAA, eight from Class AAA to Class AA and five from Class AA to Class A. Thursday’s special meeting was a direct result of those decisions.
As for the 11 proposals that didn’t pass, Ryan said the majority centered around different variations of how enrollment would be factored in.
“Enrollment was the main substance,” Ryan said. “A couple of those proposals were close, but did not pass whereas the other one did.”