The memo said the superintendents approved the portion of the realignment proposal for the 2A North and the 3A/4A classifications. It added that the superintendents did call for revisions on the proposal regarding the 1A North and 1A/2A South. The memo was brief and did not give a specific number as how the vote came out. NIAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine was out of his office and unavailable for comment for Friday.
The NIAA has been stuck with the unenviable task of implementing new measures to save school districts' expenses amid the state's current funding crisis. Last month, the NIAA released its realignment proposal aimed at doing just that.
For nearly a year, the organization has grappled with the cost-cutting issue, and after an emergency realignment plan came under fire late last spring, NIAA officials went back to the drawing board. The NIAA formed a pair of realignment committees - one in southern Nevada and another here in northern Nevada - and instructed members to study the issue and come back with ideas for a new alignment plan.
That resulting realignment proposal was sent out to the NIAA's member schools in early January and it piqued interest from Ely to Carson to Henderson.
The NIAA's Board of Control is expected to rubberstamp the realignment plan given the superintendents' approval. It meets March 10-11 in Reno at a site yet to be determined.
Nevada's high schools are currently separated into four classifications: 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. Classification in based on enrollment, with 4A schools having the largest enrollment and 1As the smallest. Schools now only compete against other schools in their same classification for league and playoff competition.
The realignment plan would change that. League play could soon pit schools from different classifications against each other, but playoff competitions would match only schools from the same classification. For example, a league could be comprised of 3A and 2A schools, but a regional or state tournament bracket would match only schools of like classifications.
This is a big change from the current setup, but educators from across the Silver State believe it will result in a huge cost savings as schools stay closer to home rather than traveling long distances during their league format to compete against a school with a similar enrollment.
"This is much different," Charlie Walsh, the athletic administrator at Sparks High School and a member of the Northern Nevada Realignment Committee, said last month. "We looked at a lot of different things. We threw out the enrollment numbers and looked at saving money, travel mileage and class time. It was kind of neat."
In an email Friday to Spanish Springs coaches, SSHS Athletic Director Art Anderson said if the realignment plan is passed next month that Northern 4A athletic administrators will be re-working various league sport schedules at their next meeting, March 15.
The realignment plan is not expected to affect Northern 4A schools, like Spanish Springs and Reed, as much as the state's smaller rural schools, which make up most of the 3A, 2A, 1A ranks.
Right now there are 15 large or 4A high schools in the Northern Region. Under the realignment, current 4A schools Elko, South Tahoe and Fallon would become 3A schools. That would leave 12 Northern 4A schools, which would likely stay in their two divisions - the High Desert League and Sierra League.
"I've been the one that has dragged my feet the most, but my opinions were from the athletic director's standpoint, fears that we'd lose lower-level games because some of the smaller schools don't field lower-level programs," Davis said. "But if I'm in our (varsity) coach's shoes, I also understand that if we don't start winning more games, we're going to lose kids."
Elko, South Tahoe and Fallon would join the existing 3A North and 2A North schools to form three leagues, divided largely between eastern, central and western Nevada. The Mount Rose League would comprise Sparks, Incline, North Tahoe, South Tahoe, Truckee and Whittell. Additionally, 4A Wooster would play in the Mount Rose for football only as an independent member, leaving the Colts ineligible for postseason play.
"We're very excited at Sparks High school for the new 3A- 2A league and 3A football league," Sparks High athletic director and football coach Rob Kittrell said. "We were anticipating this, but it's more of a relief because of what happened three years ago when we thought this is where we were headed and then it didn't happen at the last minute. We had a good idea it was coming but was still hold our breath until we got the go-ahead today."
All other Wooster athletic programs will remain in the Northern 4A.
"We are not re-inventing the wheel here. It's been like this in a lot of states for a long time," Bonine said of the new realignment proposal when it was first released in January. "We're not saving hundreds of dollars. We're saving thousands and that helps your gate when more people come to the game because they don't have to travel so far. .... There may be a bump here or there. If so, we'll tweak it. But we wanted to save money and save class time. This is good."
If passed, the realignment would go into effect for two school years, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The NIAA would use the two-year period to evaluate the new plan and then opt to scrap or tweak it as needed.
Post a Comment