Athletic directors and members of the WVSSAC Board of Control, comprised of middle and high school principals from around the state, met Monday at Stonewall Resort to discuss the list of classification proposals to be recommended for a vote.
The final vote from the Board of Control is expected to take place on Tuesday with the selected proposal being passed along to the State Board of Education for final approval.
Multiple sources confirmed to Play Sheet Sports following Monday’s five-hour meeting that the most popular proposal was Proposal 38.
The full list of proposals, first reported by Play Sheet Sports on March 25, can be seen here.
Proposal 38 uses percentages to fill out classifications with the top 20 percent based on enrollment placed in Class AAAA, the next 26 percent placed in triple-A, the following 26 percent in Class AA and the bottom 28 percent in Class A.
The goal of this proposal is to even out the classifications based on number of schools in each class.
Specifically, it shrinks Class A where Proposal 30, one that determined classification cut lines based on total enrollment of the largest school in a classification multiplied by .6, was believed to have the most momentum heading into the week.
Under Proposal 30 Class AAAA would’ve likely had 20 schools, Class AAA 28, Class AA 28 and Class A 49. Multiple sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that the smallest of the Class A schools were vocal about the number of schools in their classification and the enrollment gap between them and the bigger schools in the class such as Tyler Consolidated, Summers County and South Harrison, the three schools that would’ve been the largest in Class A.
The other proposal believed to be in contention with Proposal 38 is No. 34 which is enrollment-based and draws cutlines at 1,050 (Class AAAA), 625 (Class AAA) and 351 (Class AA).
Passage of either proposal on Tuesday does not ensure its implementation.
The BOC previously met in October and had passed a proposal that used a different formula that counted students eligible for free lunch as half a student towards enrollment. The state board voted against that proposal in February.
