Class A schools consider defection, forming own group

ROCHELLE -- A move to end athletic competition between public and private high schools in the state’s smallest classification took a significant step on Tuesday when more than half of the Class A public schools met and considered pulling out of the Georgia High Schools Association and forming their own organization.

Thirty-three schools, mostly from South Georgia, sent 85 representatives to a three-hour gathering at the Wilcox County Agricultural Center in Rochelle. All are disenchanted with the GHSA for its supposed unwillingness to effectively address a competitive advantage held by private schools.

“I think this shows that the vast majority [of public schools] are interested in doing something,” said Wilcox County principal Chad Davis, one of the biggest proponents for separating public and private schools on the playing field. “We asked the GHSA to fix it, but they didn’t.”

Public school coaches contend that the metro Atlanta private schools are able to draw from students from thousands of households and often recruit top athletes. Public schools are bound to attendance zones; private schools are not.

The GHSA executive committee recently voted to move to six classifications. During that process, the same group of smaller public schools requested that public and private schools be placed in different divisions. The request was denied by the GHSA executive committee.

On Tuesday, the dissident schools offered a number of proposals, among them breaking way from the GHSA and joining the largest classification (AAA) of the Georgia Independent Schools Association, which is made up of 134 private schools. The public schools leaving the GHSA would play non-league games against the GISA private schools, but hold separate playoffs.

However, Davis said the consensus among the Class A public schools was to form their own association and seek consultation from the GISA, whose president, Jeff Jackson, and vice president, Tommy Whittle, attended the meeting. The GISA would advise the proposed new association on matters such as developing a fee structure and acquiring catastrophic insurance to cover its member schools and athletes, Davis said.

Another point of contention was the private schools’ ability to utilize the Georgia Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning program, or GOAL. The program provides financial assistance for students to receive private school tuition, raising millions of dollars from private individuals and companies who receive significant tax deductions.

“I think the [Georgia] Legislature had great intentions when they started the GOAL program, but I don’t think they were aware of the ramifications it would have on athletics,” said Wilcox County football coach Mark Ledford, who won a state championship in 2009. This season, Ledford’s team finished 11-1 but was eliminated from the playoffs by Aquinas, a private school in Augusta.

Football is not the only sport involved in this argument. Private schools have won more than 80 percent of the state championships in all sports in recent years. Saturday’s Class A football championship involved Savannah Christian and Landmark Christian, and four private school teams played in the semifinals.

“I told the GHSA this is about kids, like my daughter who is on the softball team here,” Ledford said. “I want her to know that after all of the hard work she puts in, at the end, she has a chance to compete for a championship.”

GHSA Executive Director Ralph Swearngin countered that the relative success of private schools in Class A football this season wasn’t proof that the current setup is unfair.

’’If the only mark of success is whether you win a state championship, then there are not a lot of successful schools in our state,’’ Swearngin said. “If you see success as letting kids participate and learn the lessons that come from competitive activities, then all schools can be successful.”

Jonathan Gess, Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy football coach, said he hoped the public schools would reconsider and remain in the GHSA.

“I think the whole push to always have to win a championship has gotten us off kilter; I think there’s too much emphasis on it,” said Gess, whose team went 12-2 this season before losing in the semifinals to rival Landmark Christian School of Fairburn.

Early on Tuesday, Swearngin said, ‘’The GHSA is a voluntary association. It’s always a year-to-year membership. We’d certainly hope our schools feel they’re being served well and that they’d all stay, but at any time they feel better served by another organization, obviously they can leave.’’

Upon learning more details about the Rochelle meeting, Swearngin had no comment.

“Believe me, this is not something we wanted to do at all,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to stand up for our kids.”

Todd Holcomb of the Georgia High School Football Daily contributed to this article.

The story so far:

Tuesday: Eighty-five representatives from 33 schools, comprised mostly of Class A schools from South Georgia, met to discuss leaving the Georgia High Schools Association. Class AAAAA Tift was the only non-Class A school involved. The group formed an eight-member advisory committee that will lead the effort.

Dec. 21: The eight advisory committee members are scheduled to meet in Macon to draft bylaws and develop detailed processes and procedures for the new organization.