GHSA Punts on Reclassification

High school athletic directors will have to wait a bit longer to learn whether the Georgia High School Association will adopt a proposal  that would radically alter interscholastic competition in the state.

The GHSA's 50-member Executive Committee decided Monday in Macon to table any decision on reclassification until a called meeting in May.

The committee was scheduled to vote Monday on what has been called the 4/8 plan, which would reduce the number of classifications from five to four during the regular season, then split the four into an upper and lower tier for the playoffs, thus producing eight classifications.

The 4/8 plan was the one recommended by a 7-5 vote of the GHSA's Reclassification Committee after a combative meeting Sunday. Supporters say it allows teams to play opponents closer to home, thus reducing the time and expense of traveling long distances.

At the May meeting, the Executive Committee can adopt the 4/8 plan, the Hunter plan or decide to continue the current five-classification system with some minor modifications.

There was one other important development that came out of the Sunday meeting, which saw a renewal of an old debate between public and private schools in the state's smallest classification.

The committee agreed to form an ad hoc committee to study the issue. The committee would be composed of four representatives from public schools, four from private schools, four state legislators and four members from the Reclassification Committee. That committee will meet in April.