Dec. 23 update to WIAA reclassification process with a little more clarity for 3A
Here is your Saturday, Dec. 23 update to the WIAA reclassification process that I explained earlier this month.
The Dec. 22 deadline for schools to declare opt-up, notification of intent to appeal classification and intent to petition down in football only has come and gone.
According to the WIAA, 12 schools with sub 3A enrollment numbers have indicated their intention to opt-up to 3A in the next classification process. In addition, four schools with enrollments in the current 3A range (900 to 1,200) have indicated an intention to opt-up to 4A.
Because the formal deadline to file appeal papermaker is not until Jan. 5, those schools intending to appeal down in classification is not listed on the WIAA’s current enrollment number document.
That leaves us with 72 schools currently in the 3A classification. The target number to ensure that the 3A classification has 16-team state tournaments in the next reclassification cycle — which was the purpose of an amendment passed last spring — is 68 schools.
But questions remain about the reclassification process.
Are all the schools that intend to opt-up reflected on the WIAA’s document. The deadline was just one day ago, so it’s possible some are not.
In the last reclassification cycle, Ballard of Seattle won an appeal down from 4A to 3A. Ballard’s current enrollment number of 1,203.63 leaves it just about the 3A cutline. Will Ballard appeal down again?
Two other schools with 3A enrollments won appeals down to 2A in the previous cycle — Sammmamish and Shelton. Will these schools appeal down again?
Are there other schools with current 3A enrollments that will want to appeal down to 2A?
Given that the WIAA is working to get 3A down to at most 68 schools, will the executive board be more receptive to granting appeals down from 3A to 2A?
And how does all of this impact schools currently on the upper range of the 3A classification?
Given the current number of 72, it would appear that Mountain View — which currently has the fifth-largest enrollment in the current 3A class — is likely to remain at 3A. Prairie, which is the second-largest in 3A right now, remains on the bubble.
It remains likely that the answers to many of the above questions won’t be answered until the WIAA Executive Board approves the final classifications for the next cycle on Jan. 21.
Here is a list of schools currently with enrollments in the 3A range (900-1,200; note enrollments rounded up to nearest whole number):
1 Mount Vernon 1,200
2 Prairie 1,187
3 Oak Harbor 1,180
4 Garfield 1,178
5 Mountain View 1,172
6 Edmonds-Woodway 1,168
7 Interlake 1,167
8 Thomas Jefferson 1,164
9 Shorewood 1,159
10 Meadowdale 1,148
11 Central Kitsap 1,146
12 Bellevue 1,145
13 Kennewick 1,143
14 Ridgeline 1,139
15 Walla Walla 1,133
16 Shorecrest 1,131
17 Auburn Mountainview 1,128
18 Roosevelt 1,123
19 Everett 1,114
20 River Ridge 1,114
21 Snohomish 1,109
22 Monroe 1,106
23 Liberty-Issaquah 1,104
24 Mercer Island 1,097
25 Kentlake 1,092
26 Marysville-Getchell 1,085
27 Inglemoor 1,080
28 Mt. Spokane 1,079
29 Southridge 1,075
30 Cheney 1,074
31 Ingraham 1,072
32 Heritage 1,064
33 Timberline 1,064
34 University 1,047
35 West Seattle 1,039
36 Mountlake Terrace 1,037
37 North Thurston 1,034
38 Federal Way 1,024
39 Evergreen 1,024
40 Hermiston 1,019
41 Shadle Park 1,011
42 Ferndale 1,010
43 Gig Harbor 1,001
44 Capital 994
45 Lynnwood 993
46 Stadium 991
47 Central Valley 984
48 Shelton 983
49 Lincoln-Tacoma 981
50 Peninsula 979
51 White River 977
52 Enumclaw 975
53 Sammamish 963
54 Kelso 962
55 Decatur 954
56 Lakes 950
57 North Central 927
58 Highline 926
59 Sedro-Woolley 916
60 Lindbergh 906
61 Mt. Tahoma 897 (opt up 3A)
62 Franklin 866 (opt up 3A)
63 Silas 828 (opt up 3A)
64 Todd Beamer 824 (opt up 3A)
65 Bishop Blanchet 721 (opt up 3A)
66 Bellarmine Prep 679 (opt up 3A)
67 Seattle Prep 606 (opt up 3A)
68 Rainier Beach 511 (opt up 3A)
69 Eastside Catholic 460 (opt up 3A)
70 Holy Names 440 (opt up 3A)
71 Lakeside 439 (opt up 3A)
72 O’Dea 347 (opt up 3A)
