Ridge View, Irmo delivered second blow to hopes of changing realignment fate
The second chance for Ridge View and Irmo to plead their case regarding realignment ended with the same result Wednesday.
The S.C. High School League Executive Committee voted 14-0 to deny the Blazers’ appeal to move from Class 5A down to Class 4A and said no to the Yellow Jackets’ plea to change regions in a 12-4 vote.
The decisions come less than three weeks after the Class 4A and 5A executive committees denied the requests.
Ridge View and Irmo have one final chance to win their appeal and both schools said they will pursue it. The SCHSL appellate panel is set to meet Feb. 19.
Realignment happens in the state every two years and is done to level the competitive playing field among schools. Among the changes for the 2020-22 school years, Ridge View moved up from 4A to 5A — the state’s biggest classification — for the first time.
The 40 largest schools in South Carolina are in Class 5A. As it stands, Ridge View will be the smallest in the class.
Ridge View’s main argument was the way counting was done for the school’s 45-day enrollment figure. Only students in grades 9 through 11 count toward the 45-day number, which is used to determine realignment. Ridge View’s 45-day total was 1,292 students, just two more than West Florence, the biggest Class 4A school.
According to Ridge View athletic director Brian Rosefield, 39 students who should’ve been considered seniors were not. Those 39 students are in their fourth year of athletic eligibility but not academically. Rosefield’s argument is that some school districts in South Carolina count such students as seniors and some don’t.
The Richland 2 School District — where Ridge View is located — does not consider them seniors, which means they do count toward that critical 45-day number.
Committee members pointed out the fact that districts were tabulating the numbers in different ways. Some did like Ridge View and Richland 2 and counted the students in their fourth year athletically but not academically as seniors, while others did not.
This is the first time the 45-day enrollment numbers were based on freshmen through juniors. In the past the number included freshmen through seniors and the 135-day count was used.
“We made our case like we needed to. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” Rosefield said. “We have two-fold motivations now: We want to advocate for our kids, and we are rightly placed where we needed to be. And like committee members mentioned, we want this to be done in equitable matter. Right now, it seems to appear to be a race to see who is better at paperwork.
“We believe we can compete anywhere. If we are 5A and the numbers are equitable and even, that is great. If we are 4A, then great. We just want to feel like we are where we are supposed to be.”
Irmo moved down from Class 5A to 4A in the new realignment plan but was unhappy with its region placement. The school’s appeal was to change from Region 5-4A to Region to 4-4A because of travel concerns and the impact on instructional time in the classroom.
Region 4-4A is made up of Midlands schools A.C. Flora, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin, Richland Northeast and Westwood. Region 5-4A is made up of Aiken, Airport, Midland Valley, North Augusta and South Aiken. Airport is the only other Columbia-area school in the region.
Irmo had the support of Aiken schools for leaving and from most of those in Region 4-4A. Only Dreher and A.C. Flora opposed the move.
“This is about what is the best interest for our students and academics and the outcome they will have in those experiences at Irmo,” school principal Robin Hardy said Wednesday.
“We felt like we had the majority of support from the region we are leaving and are going into,” Irmo athletic director Ray Canady said. “That is all we are asking for is consideration for our students. It is not about travel time. It is about loss of instruction for our students.”
Canady said many of the school’s athletes attend Spring Hill Magnet School in Chapin and that it already takes them 30 minutes to get to the school before leaving for region road games — the change will cost them an hour of instruction time, he said. According to the school, 161 of the 218 students at Spring Hill participate in Irmo athletics.
Some committee members agreed with that point, adding “the focus should be on instructional time.” While others agreed with that issue, they suggested working around the concern with later start times for games and possibly playing JV contests on weekends.
“I don’t see it as a unique burden to Irmo to travel throughout the state,” one committee member stated.
In another appeals heard Wednesday, West Oak, Burke and Christ Church all denied to move classifications.
Below are the classifications and regions for the 2020-22 realignment plan:
Class 5A
Region 1: Hillcrest J. L. Mann Mauldin T. L. Hanna Woodmont
Region 2: Byrnes, Dorman, Riverside, Spartanburg, Wade Hampton
Region 3: Boiling Springs, Clover, Fort Mill, Gaffney, Nation Ford
Region 4: Blythewood, Northwestern, Ridge View, Rock Hill,Spring Valley
Region 5: Chapin, Dutch, Fork, Lexington, River Bluff, White Knoll
Region 6: Carolina Forest, Conway, Socastee, St. James, Sumter
Region 7: Berkeley, Cane Bay, Goose Creek, Stratford, Wando
Region 8: Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester, Stall, Summerville, West Ashley
Class 4A
Region 1: Easley, Pickens, Travelers Rest, Walhalla, Westside
Region 2: Eastside, Greenville, Greenwood, Greer, Laurens
Region 3: Catawba Ridge, Indian Land, Lancaster, South Pointe, York
Region 4: AC Flora, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin, Richland Northeast, Westwood
Region 5: Aiken, Airport, Irmo, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken
Region 6: Darlington, Harstville, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, South Florence, West Florence, Wilson
Region 7: Beaufort, Bluffton, Colleton County, Hilton Head Island, James Island, Lucy Beckham, May River
Class 3A
Region 1: Belton-Honea Path, Daniel, Pendleton, Seneca, West-Oak, Wren
Region 2: Berea, Blue Ridge, Carolina, Palmetto, Powdersville, Southside
Region 3: Broome, Chapman, Clinton, Emerald, Union County, Woodruff
Region 4: Chester, Fairfield-Central, Keenan, Lower Richland, Mid-Carolina
Region 5: Brookland-Cayce, Fox Creek, Gilbert, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Strom Thurmond, Swansea
Region 6: Camden, Crestwood, Lake City, Lakewood, Manning, Marlboro County
Region 7: Aynor, Dillon, Georgetown, Loris, Waccamaw
Region 8: Academic Magnet, Battery Creek, Bishop England, Hanahan, North Charleston, Oceanside Collegiate
Class 2A
Region 1: Abbeville, Christ Church, Crescent, Greenville Tech, Liberty, Ninety Six
Region 2: Blacksburg, Brashier MC, Chesnee, Greer MC, Landrum, Legion Collegiate, St. Joseph
Region 3: Andrew Jackson, Buford, Central, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Legion Collegiate, North Central, York Prep
Region 4: Batesburg-Leesville, Columbia, Eau Claire, Gray Collegiate, Newberry, Saluda
Region 5: Barnwell, Edisto, Pelion, Silver Bluff, Wade Hampton
Region 6: Burke, Lake Marion, Philip Simmons, Ridgeland-Hardeeville, Timberland, Woodland
Region 7: Andrews, Kingstree, Latta, Lee Central, Marion, Mullins
Class A
Region 1: Calhoun Falls, Dixie, High Point Academy**, McCormick, SCSDB**, Southside Christian, Ware Shoals, Whitmire
Region 2: CA Johnson, Governor’s School**, Great Falls, Lamar (football only), Lewisville, McBee, Midlands Stem**, Riverwalk Academy**
Region 3: Blackville-Hilda, Calhoun County, Denmark-Olar, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, North, Ridge Spring-Monetta, Wagener-Salley, Williston-Elko
Region 4: CE Murray, Carvers Bay, East Clarendon, Hemingway, Scott’s Branch
Region 5: Coastal Leadership**, Green Sea-Floyds, Hannah-Pamplico, Johnsonville, Lake View, Lamar, Timmonsville
Region 6, Allendale-Fairfax, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Bethune-Bowman, Branchville, Bridges Prep**, Estill, Polaris Tech**, Royal Live Oak**
Region 7: Baptist Hill, Charleston Math & Science, Cross, Low Country Leadership**, Military Magnet, Palmetto Scholars**, St. John’s, Whale Branch
** denotes no football
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 9:37 AM.
