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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > March > 04 > Entry
Senate votes to change private school classifications
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill changing the way private schools are classified for high school sports and other competitions passed the state Senate on Friday.
Currently, schools compete in classifications based on the number of students at the school. Students at private and parochial schools that compete against public schools are counted as 1.5 students under the formula.
That system was adopted by the Georgia High School Association in 2000, after then-House Speaker Tom Murphy pushed for it.
Murphy argued that private schools have an unfair advantage because they can recruit athletes and other students, regardless of where they live.
“This was because his daughter-in-law was losing on the Bremen debate team to the Pace (Academy) debate team,” said Sen. John Wiles, R-Marietta, who formerly coached a private school baseball team and sponsored the bill.
Wiles said counting enrollment equally for all schools is a matter of fairness. He said the current system forces private schools to play football, baseball, soccer and other sports against public schools that are much larger.
The bill passed 37-4 and now goes to the House.
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