GHSA Reclassification: Subtle changes in local regions for next two years

The Georgia High School Association Reclassification Committee met Monday at the GHSA Office in Thomaston to finalize the first-ever mid-cycle adjustment. GHSA regions have historically been set for two-year cycles, but have now moved to a four-year model with a mid-cycle adjustment if a school’s FTE count moved by 20 percent or more.

There were only two changes reported involving regions inclusive of local high schools and neither change had anything to do with the 20 percent rule.

Region 6-A that includes Excel Christian Academy adds one new school — Mt. Bethel Christian — while Region 6-AAA that includes local school Adairsville loses Bremen who will move down to Class AA.

Excel is the smallest school in GHSA with an FTE of 29. That is a drop of 68.1 percent from a count of 91 in 2015. The largest private school in Region 6-A is Mt. Paran with an FTE count of 454. There are 19 schools in Region 6-A with 15 playing football. Thirteen of the schools in the league are private. Eleven private schools in Region 6-A play football.

In Region 7-AAAAA, Woodland and Cass are included with three of the five largest schools in the Class AAAAA.

Rome is the largest school in the classification and Paulding County is the second largest school Class AAAAA. East Paulding's FTE ranks it as the fifth largest school in the classification.

Cartersville is the ninth largest school in Class AAAA and the second largest in Region 5-AAAA.

Chapel Hill is the largest school in Region 5-AAAA and the fourth largest in the classification. Sandy Creek is the fourth smallest school in Class AAAA and the smallest in the region.

The obvious change in Adairsville’s league, Region 6-AAA, is the absence of Bremen.

Bremen was granted a waiver of its Reclassification Attendance Zone Restriction which forced the school to play in a higher classification than its FTE numbers the past two years. With that waiver, Bremen will move to Region 5-AA.

Sonoraville is the largest school in Region 6-AAA and the fifth largest school in Class AAA.

Region 7-AAAAA (9 schools)

School — New FTE (+/- %) (56 schools in classification)

Rome — 1865 (+8.8%)

Paulding Co. — 1799 (+4.4%)

East Paulding — 1685 (+0.2%)

Carrollton — 1610 (+8.7%)

Hiram — 1601 (-2.0%)

Villa Rica — 1600 (+0.6%)

Cass — 1527 (-2.1%)

Kell — 1517 (+2.3%)

Woodland — 1505 (-8.4%)