The executive committee of the S.C. High School League has approved a measure to address competitive-balance issues in athletics among member schools.
The committee voted by 12-4 Wednesday to approve a multiplier for out-of-attendance-zone students in all schools before the SCHSL reclassifies member schools for athletics, as the league does every two years.
The multiplier for out-of-zone students is 3.0, which means that each out-of-zone student will count as three students for purposes of enrollment numbers for reclassification.
For example, a school with enrollment of 100 students, with 10 of them from out of the attendance zone, would have a count of 120 for reclassification purposes, SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton said at the meeting. The model could move schools with a significant number of out-of-zone students up by one or two classes.
The multiplier model was chosen from among several proposals from the SCHSL's competitive-balance committee, which was established after charter and private schools began to dominate state championships in the state's lower classifications in recent years.
Such schools in the Charleston area include Bishop England High School, a private school and long-time member of the SCHSL, and Oceanside Collegiate, a public charter school. Both schools compete in Class AA, the second-smallest of five classifications. There are four private schools and 15 charter schools in the SCHSL.
"We don't know for sure how this affects us," Oceanside athletic director Mark Meyer said. "It would appear there will be a lot of movement up and down and we have not looked at the numbers yet. There are a lot of variables right now. We have to wait and see what that initial list of classifications looks like. Just like everyone else."
In this school year, private or charter schools have won state championships in Class A and AA girls volleyball, girls tennis and boys cross country; Class A and AAAA girls cross country; Class AAA boys and girls swimming; and AAAA boys volleyball, which competed in only two classifications.
Reclassification takes place every two years, and the SCHSL is currently working on the plan for 2024-26. The new numbers based on the multiplier model would be used to 2024-26. As usual, an appeals process will follow release of the reclassification plan.
Dr. Rallie Liston of Spartanburg School District 4 introduced the motion that was approved.
"It may be that this is only 60 percent better, and that it has flaws," he said. "But it's 60 percent better for children than it is right now."
The executive committee also voted by a narrow 9-7 margin to approve SCHSL membership for a new sports-oriented charter school, Mountain View Prep, in Spartanburg County.
And it voted to recognize a 96-game unbeaten streak by pre-integration Sims High School in Spartanburg County from 1945-54 as the longest in state history. The streak included win streaks of 32 and 30 games, and is third-longest in U.S. history.
David Shelton contributed to this report.
