Schools in Wise County and across the state submitted their Oct. 15 high school enrollments to the UIL by Tuesday. The state agency will use those figures for creating new districts and classifications for athletic and academic competitions. According to its communications officer Chris Schmidt, the UIL will announce the new alignments in late January or early February.
Until that time, school officials can only guess where they will land.
Most schools in the area turned in numbers that should keep them in their current classifications.
Class 3A schools Decatur and Bridgeport fell in the middle of the range of 430 and 979 used for the classification in 2008. Decatur turned in 857. Bridgeport submitted 619.
Class 5A Northwest turned in an enrollment of 2,720, well above the 2008 cutoff of 2,085 for the state's largest classification.
Class 2A Boyd turned in 334 with the range of 200 and 429 used by the UIL for the 2008-10 realignment.
"We ought to be a solid 2A in the middle of the pack," said Boyd Assistant Superintendent Ted West.
Alvord submitted 221 for its high school. Paradise turned in 306.
Chico, which has been in Class 2A the past two years, could return to Class A. The district turned in an enrollment of 185 in grades nine through 12. The cutoff for Class 2A in 2008 was 200.
"You don't know until the UIL releases the new districts," said Chico ISD Superintendent Mike Jones. "But if the number stays where they are, we'll be 1A."
Starting with this realignment for football only, Class A will be split into two divisions of 16 districts. Division I will consist of the largest schools in the classification in districts. Division II will contain the half of schools with smaller enrollments. The two top teams in each district will advance to the playoffs.
The new system replaces the current one where three teams from each of the 32 Class A districts advance to the playoffs. The largest advancing school goes to the Division I playoffs. The other two schools head for the Division II bracket.
Jones said the new system, which allows schools of similar size to compete for district titles and playoff berths, is "probably the fairest approach.
"It makes for a more level playing field. You want it as equal as possible," Jones pointed out.
The UIL recently surveyed Class 2A superintendents about splitting the classification. UIL Director of Policy Mark Cousins said results of the vote would be released Sunday or Monday at the UIL Legislative Council Meeting in Austin.
"If passed, it will go into effect for the upcoming alignment," Cousins said.
Boyd Athletic Director J.G. Cartwright said he would like to see the split system for Class 2A.
"I think the only negative would be the travel," Cartwright said. "I don't see a lot of Division I schools around us in Class 2A. I think it's something that does equalize competition, especially for the schools stuck at the bottom of a district."
Cartwright added that he does not like the current system, where the teams going to the Division I and II playoffs are not determined until the three advancing teams are decided.
"I was never crazy about this system," he said. "The new way, you'd know before the season."
