Idaho May Get Fifth Class

The Idaho High School Activities Association board will decide next month whether to readjust the attendance standards of the four competitive school classifications or break with a generation of tradition and add a fifth.

“It’s too close to call,” said Bill Young, the executive director of the activities association. “The way I see it, the vote could go either way. Whatever the board decides to do, we’ll put it in place, either a five-classification system or a four.”

The board’s decision will be implemented with the 1998-1999 school year.

Advocates of adding a fifth class maintain it is a matter of fairness that would permit athletes to compete against schools of the same relative size, ending the situation where schools often find themselves vying for a title against a school with twice the enrollment.