Numbers game leaves GSL in state of flux

The Greater Spokane League will have a new look in the fall of 2006.

At least two schools, West Valley and Clarkston, will drop to the 2A ranks when the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association adds a sixth classification in 2006. Those two schools’ projected enrollment should allow them to move into what is now the Great Northern League.

Enrollment figures for 2A schools under current guidelines are 301 to 600 in grades 10 through 12. Those numbers will rise considerably in 2006, when the WIAA divides its member schools into six classifications, the top four each containing 17 percent of the schools, with the smallest 32 percent divided into two classes. Using current numbers, it’s estimated the revised 2A classification will contain schools with enrollments between 413 and 891.

Despite a request from the GSL to do so, Cheney High declined to declare its intentions, as the school expects to be on the 3A/2A bubble when enrollment figures are determined in December.

“We just got our projected numbers and, if you look at where the state is projecting the number to fall, we are just under the line,” said Cheney principal Tom Gresch. “But if you look at our October and November numbers from last year, we would be just above the line. We are within 10 either way.

“And who knows where the number will fall? Right now the magic number is 892, but when the new schools on the West Side are factored in, that could change. If we were within 20 either way, we probably just go ahead and make a decision. But we don’t want to tell our community one thing and then be wrong.”

The delay means the GSL won’t be able to determine the league makeup in 2006-2007 until December. If Cheney remains in 3A and a member, the league will have 12 schools, probably forcing the GSL to retain a two-division scheduling format for many sports including basketball.

If Cheney drops to 2A, the 11 remaining GSL schools could play a double round-robin format in sports such as basketball that have a 20-game regular-season limit. Such a schedule would eliminate non-league games.

The process of determining each school’s 2006-2007 classification has already started. Enrollment numbers from March, April and May have been gathered and will be combined with upcoming counts from October and November, with November’s number figured in twice, to determine a six-month average. The WIAA decided not to wait for the December number, as is usually the case, so schools can begin planning for the changeover prior to this year’s Christmas break.