The “4/8 Plan”
Today, the GHSA’s Executive Committee will vote on the “4/8 Plan,” a proposal on how to divide the state’s high schools for athletic competition. Under the plan, the state’s existing five classifications would be reduced to four and there would be two state championships per class — one tournament for “Upper Tier” and one for “Lower Tier” — for an overall total of eight.
Here is one estimation on how the classes and regions would look. Note that listed enrollment numbers will change after October’s FTE reports for grades 9-11:
Class A
Region 1-A
Upper tier
1 Randolph Clay 352
2 Pelham 337
3 Mitchell Co. 333
4 Seminole Co. 314
5 Terrell Co. 291
Lower tier (5)
1 Miller Co. 232
2 Stewart Co. 145
3 Calhoun Co. 123
4 Webster Co. 108
5 Baconton Charter 102
6 Baker Co.* 66
7 Quitman Co.* 64
Region 2-A
Upper tier
1 Bacon Co. 402
2 Irwin Co. 351
3 Atkinson Co. 342
4 Telfair Co. 339
5 Charlton 331
Lower tier
1 Lanier Co. 327
2 Turner Co. 307
3 Wilcox Co. 295
4 Clinch Co. 273
5 Echols Co.* 150
Region 3-A
Upper tier
1 McIntosh Academy 417
2 Bryan Co. 386
3 Savannah Christian 374
4 Metter 365
5 Claxton 329
6 Jenkins Co. 311
7 Treutlen Co. 291
Lower tier
1 Calvary Day 287
2 ECI 274
3 Johnson Co. 251
4 Portal 234
5 Montgomery 234
6 Wheeler Co. 203
7 Savannah Country Day 182
Region 4-A
Upper tier
1 Crawford Co. 465
2 Heard Co. 455
3 Macon Co. 418
4 Taylor Co. 374
5 Chattachoochee 365
6 Marion Co. 302
Lower tier
1 Hawkinsville 287
2 Greenville 282
3 Dooly Co. 282
4 Schley Co. 275
5 Brookstone 189
6 Central Talbottom 131
7 Pacelli 98
Region 5-A
Upper tier
1 Avondale 465
2 Wesleyan 323
3 Holy Innocents 318
4 Paideia* 307
5 Hapeville Charter 290
Lower tier
1 Mt. Paran Christian 276
2 Walker 265
3 Atlanta International* 227
4 St. Francis 200
5 Whitfield Academy 199
6 North Cobb Christian* 185
7 Galloway 184
8 Fellowship Christian 183
9 DeKalb School of Arts* 180
10 Mt. Pisgah Christian 167
11 Excel Christian* 81
12 Yeshiva* 78
13 Ben Franklin* 64
14 King Ridge Christian* (N/A)
Region 6-A
Upper tier
1 Bremen 427
2 Bowdon 360
3 Gordon Lee 345
4 Darlington 337
5 Trion 296
6 Mt. Zion Carrollton 290
Lower tier
1 Pace Academy 281
2 Eagle’s Landing Christian 240
3 Our Lady of Mercy 220
4 Tech High Charter* 182
5 Landmark Christian 166
6 Strong Rock Christian 155
7 GA School for the Deaf* 66
8 SW Atlanta Christian 63
9 W.D. Mohammed* 59
10 Greenforest Christian* 42
11 First Presbyterian
12 Morris Innovative* (N/A)
Region 7-A
Upper tier
1 Greene Co. 438
2 Washington-Wilkes 372
3 Wilkinson Co. 313
4 Lincoln Co. 312
5 Hancock Central 292
6 Davidson Fine Arts* 359
Lower tier
1 Twiggs Co. 243
2 Aquinas 223
3 GMC 197
4 Taliaferro Co. 196
5 Warren Co. 158
6 Glascock Co. 132
7 Johnson (Augusta)* 267
8 GA Academy for Blind* 59
Region 8-A
Upper tier
1 Jasper Co. (Monticello) 450
2 Social Circle 394
3 George Walton 352
4 Riverside Military 330
5 Commerce 307
Lower tier
1 Hebron Christian 274
2 Athens Academy 248
3 Towns Co. 237
4 Athens Christian 164
5 Prince Avenue Christian 136
6 Lakeview Academy 110
7 Providence Christian* 276
8 Pinecrest Academy 208
9 Rabun Gap Nac.* 195
10 Tallulah Falls* 87
11 Woody Gap* 33
Class AA
Region 1-AA
Upper tier
1 Dodge Co. 779
2 Worth Co. 759
3 Cook Co. 729
4 Dougherty 703
Lower tier
1 Albany 691
2 Berrien 685
3 Fitzgerald 624
4 Thomasville 562
5 Brooks Co. 512
6 Early Co. 508
Region 2-AA
Upper tier
1 Appling Co. 750
2 Southeast Bulloch 727
3 Brantley Co. 725
4 Pierce Co. 725
5 Tatnall Co. 708
Lower tier
1 Jeff Davis 587
2 Toombs Co. 576
3 Long Co. 502
4 Vidalia 501
5 Benedictine 490
6 Islands (Savannah)* 600
7 Savannah Arts Academy* 584
8 St. Vincent’s Academy* 501
Region 3-AA
Upper tier
1 Henry Co. 832
2 Pike Co. 832
3 Jackson 764
4 Carver (Columbus) 756
5 Spencer 700
Lower tier
1 Southwest Macon 672
2 Northeast Macon 672
3 Jordan 657
4 Kendrick 638
5 Callaway 593
6 Lamar Co. 574
7 Manchester 512
Region 4-AA
Upper tier
1 Glenn Hills 872
2 Thomson 842
3 Oconee Co. 782
4 Morgan Co. 764
5 North Oconee 755
6 Butler 713
7 Washington Co. 709
Lower tier
1 Josey 681
2 Westside (Augusta) 664
3 Swainsboro 641
4 Laney 636
5 Jefferson Co. 602
6 Harlem 589
7 Screven Co. 554
8 Dublin 553
9 Bleckley Co. 531
10 East Laurens 482
Region 5-AA
Upper tier
1 Therrell 875
2 Cross Keys 867
3 North Clayton 859
4 St. Pius X 826
5 South Atlanta 809
6 Cedar Grove 802
7 Woodward Academy 799
8 Towers 753
9 McNair 744
Lower tier
1 Blessed Trinity 689
2 Jackson (Atlanta) 672
3 Westminister 635
4 Marist 610
5 Decatur 597
6 New Manchester (Douglas) 590
7 Greater Atlanta Christian 550
8 Lovett 479
Region 6-AA
Upper tier
1 Central Carrollton 848
2 Sonoraville 816
3 Haralson Co. 804
4 Ringgold 791
5 Lakeview Ft. Oglethorpe 765
Lower tier
1 Pepperell 681
2 Rockmart 674
3 Coosa 583
4 Model 519
5 Temple 514
6 Armuchee 493
Region 7-AA
Upper tier
1 Cartersville 871
2 North Murray 806
3 Dawson Co. 790
4 Murray Co. 761
5 Adairsville 736
6 Fannin Co. 713
Lower tier
1 Calhoun 664
2 Gordon Central 635
3 Chattooga 597
4 Coahulla Creek Whitfield 590
5 Dade Co. 561
Region 8-AA
Upper tier
1 Stephens Co. 874
2 North Hall 872
3 West Hall 859
4 Franklin Co. 849
5 East Hall 818
6 Jackson Co. 764
7 Hart Co. 756
8 Buford 734
Lower tier
1 Elbert Co. 694
2 Banks Co. 624
3 Jefferson 602
4 Putnam Co. 587
5 Oglethorpe Co. 551
6 Union Co. 516
7 Rabun Co. 502
Class AAA
Region 1-AAA
Upper tier
1 Northside Columbus 1225
2 Bainbridge 1157
3 Harris Co. 1145
4 Thomas Co. Central 1137
Lower tier
1 Americus Sumter 999
2 Monroe Albany 990
3 Westover 972
4 Crisp Co. 954
5 Cairo 904
Region 2-AAA
Upper tier
1 Evans 1383
2 Lakeside Evans 1333
3 Greenbrier 1235
Lower tier
1 Cross Creek 1045
2 Grovetown 1040
3 Richmond Academy 1024
4 H.V. Jenkins 999
5 Burke Co. 996
6 Savannah 932
7 Hephzibah 911
8 Beach (Savannah) 901
9 Liberty Co. 898
10 Johnson (Savannah) 881
Region 3-AAA
Upper tier
1 Richmond Hill 1238
2 South Effingham 1153
3 Windsor Forest 1139
4 Wayne Co. 1122
5 Statesboro 1075
Lower tier
1 Peach Co. 945
2 Howard (Macon) 944
3 West Laurens 939
4 Mary Person 937
5 Rutland 932
6 Veterans 927
7 Perry 915
8 Westside Macon 890
9 Central Macon 876
Region 4-AAA
Upper tier
1 Jones County 1225
2 Woodland 1195
3 Ola 1149
4 Baldwin 1112
5 Griffin 1094
6 Upson-Lee 1072
7 Dutchtown 1070
Lower tier
1 Spalding 1027
2 Banneker 1014
3 Eagle’s Landing 1013
4 Stockbridge 1013
5 Jonesboro 1010
6 Sandy Creek 910
7 Locust Grove 889
Region 5-AAA
Upper tier
1 Mt. Zion Jonesboro 1214
2 Riverdale 1185
3 Drew 1182
4 Whitewater 1169
5 Starrs Mill 1148
6 Fayette Co. 1101
7 Creekside 1062
Lower tier
1 LaGrange 1092
2 Columbus 1082
3 Troup 1049
4 Carrollton 975
5 Shaw 938
6 Cedartown 900
Region 6-AAA
Upper tier
1 Southwest DeKalb 1225
2 Tucker 1224
3 Stephenson 1220
4 Dunwoody 1188
5 Chamblee 1186
6 Druid Hills 1182
7 Grady 1162
8 North Springs 1152
9 Mays 1145
10 Carver, Atlanta 1130
11 Arabia Mountain 1100
12 Lithonia 1092
Lower tier
1 Riverwood 1091
2 Washington (Atlanta) 1056
3 Redan 1038
4 North Atlanta 1029
5 Douglass (Atlanta) 1023
6 Columbia 927
7 Clarkston 899
8 Stone Mountain 891
Region 7-AAA
Upper tier
1 Rome 1172
2 Paulding Co. 1145
3 Villa Rica 1145
4 Cass 1110
5 River’s Edge Cherokee 1102
6 Ridgeland 1097
7 Southeast Whitfield 1073
Lower tier
1 Heritage Catoosa 1024
2 Pickens Co. 984
3 Gilmer 969
4 LaFayette 923
5 Lumpkin Co. 922
Region 8-AAA
Upper tier
1 Cedar Shoals 1209
2 Gainesville 1192
3 Clark Central 1185
4 Salem 1180
5 Lanier 1179
6 Eastside 1137
7 Loganville 1122
8 Madison Co. 1102
9 Forsyth Central 1062
Lower tier
1 Monroe Area 993
2 Johnson (Gainesville) 910
3 Chestatee 903
4 White Co. 880
5 Walnut Grove 878
Class AAAA
Region 1-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Lowndes 2413
2 Colquitt Co. 1781
3 Coffee Co. 1616
4 Tift Co. 1602
Lower tier
1 Northside (W. Robins) 1421
2 Valdosta 1409
3 Hardaway 1378
4 Houston Co. 1349
5 Warner Robins 1344
6 Lee Co. 1337
Region 2-AAAA
Upper tier
1 East Coweta 2189
2 Hughes 1834
3 Newnan 1813
4 Westlake 1652
5 Newton 1574
6 Luella 1569
7 Alcovy 1556
8 Lovejoy 1538
9 Rockdale Co. 1498
Lower tier
1 Morrow 1468
2 Northgate 1437
3 Tri-Cities 1390
4 Forest Park 1381
5 Union Grove 1337
6 Mundy’s Mill 1309
7 McIntosh 1295
Region 3-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Camden Co. 2244
2 Brunswick 1518
Lower tier
1 Effingham Co. 1442
2 Bradwell Institute 1431
3 Glynn Academy 1378
4 Ware Co. 1275
5 Groves 1250
Region 4-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Campbell 1823
2 Douglass Co. 1753
3 McEachern 1730
4 Pebblebrook 1713
5 Harrison 1597
6 South Cobb 1542
7 Hillgrove 1541
Lower tier
1 South Paulding 1458
2 Kennesaw Mountain 1434
3 North Paulding 1345
4 Hiram 1280
5 East Paulding 1265
Region 5-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Walton 2013
2 North Cobb 1991
3 Etowah 1753
4 Cherokee 1717
5 Marietta 1652
6 Wheeler 1645
7 Woodstock 1594
Lower tier
1 Lithia Springs 1450
2 Alexander 1407
3 Osborne 1391
4 Chapel Hill 1385
5 Pope 1337
Region 6-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Milton 2036
2 Roswell 1917
3 Alpharetta 1718
4 North Forsyth 1678
5 West Forsyth 1545
6 Lassiter 1514
7 Centennial 1511
Lower tier
1 John’s Creek 1491
2 Sprayberry 1387
3 Sequoyah 1363
4 Woodland (Cartersville) 1362
5 Northwest Whitfield 1352
6 Allatoona 1344
7 Creekview 1324
8 Northview 1312
9 Chattachoochee 1297
10 Dalton 1282
11 Kell 1263
Region 7-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Mill Creek 2763
2 Collins Hill 2615
3 Norcross 2603
4 Peachtree Ridge 2514
5 Meadowcreek 2244
6 North Gwinnett 2012
7 Duluth 1995
8 Mountain View 1509
Lower tier
1 Lakeside (DeKalb) 1413
2 Miller Grove 1257
3 Martin Luther King 1250
Region 8-AAAA
Upper tier
1 Berkmar 2654
2 Brookwood 2644
3 Central Gwinnett 2140
4 Parkview 2114
5 Grayson 2095
6 South Gwinnett 1963
7 Shiloh 1761
8 Dacula 1536
9 Lambert 1546
Lower tier
1 Winder Barrow 1490
2 Archer 1457
3 Habersham Central 1440
4 South Forsyth 1386
5 Heritage (Conyers) 1288
6 Appalachee 1280
7 Flowery Branch 1271
* denotes no football competition
(Information courtesy of Earl Etheridge of GHSA reclassification committee.)
