In 1980, there were 381,000 kids enrolled in school in West Virginia. The last numbers I saw for WV students enrolled was just over 252,000. With a dwindling enrollment and the smallest number of schools in forever, is there a need to have an entirely new classification to go to AAAA?
WV High School basketball
- Thread starter Jartard
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The number of schools may not, but the enrollment disparities do warrant 4 classes.
When West Virginia jumped into the consolidation trend years after it ended elsewhere, it created major discrepancies. I wasn’t sure about 4 classes either and I’m glad they tried it. We’ve had new matchups that have been to the wire in Charleston. It’s been a very good boys tournament.
What confuses me is the people who appear adamantly against it tend to be associated with AAAA schools who literally had zero change. I think all but two of the old AAA moved up to AAAA.
As far as sports, consolidation seems to have failed for the most part. Capital High had a little run, but they’ve not been relevant the past few years when Charleston High and Stonewall were always among the states best. Same for Riverside with DuPont and East Bank. Huntington/Huntington East. These teams just don’t dominate like the schools did prior to consolidation. Granted, some of these schools have a good run here or there, but it’s just not the same.
The 4 class format was done to move the private schools like St Joe up in competition. They dominated in girls basketball and other schools like Charleston Catholic were successful as well. With the private schools ability to recruit, they were blowing by their single A competition.
They changed the criteria of classification to a formula where city population was included. It makes sense because the private schools who reside in large populations have an incredible pool to attract talent where A schools in sparsely populated areas just have what they have. Wheeling Central went to AAA and they’re playing for the championship today. I think it was a good thing.
I remember when they consolidated Stonewall and Charleston. Old guys were talking like Capital was going to win every title in every sport.
They also HATED the school colors.
I also was a student at Washington Irving when they consolidated with Roosevelt-Wilson in Clarksburg and the built Robert C. Byrd. I remember them worrying if the new school would be big enough.
Byrd is now AA. It's nuts.
They also HATED the school colors.
I also was a student at Washington Irving when they consolidated with Roosevelt-Wilson in Clarksburg and the built Robert C. Byrd. I remember them worrying if the new school would be big enough.
Byrd is now AA. It's nuts.
Spencer used to be decent on occasions in sports and consolidated with Walton and haven’t done anything really. Sistersville was a beast in football and consolidated with Tyler and haven’t done much. It’s like it kills the competitive level when natural rivals are eliminated.
There are 29 schools in the top 3 classes, 38 in Class A. Being the best of 29 is kind of a paper championship, IMHO. While consolidation is about over, there are maybe 5 more small schools that will disappear eventually.
The old system had two, somewhat valid, criticisms.
- The difference between the big schools and the rest in AAA was huge. The last time they did it, they purposefully made AAA smaller than the 1/3rd it should be and the difference was still 1000 students between the largest and the smallest. (If they did it the old way, exact thirds, the difference is over 1250). While AA was only 350, and, leaving out some real outliers, only 300 in A.
- The religious schools, mostly Catholic, one, recruit, and two, generally are based in cities, which has lots of advantages over the public A schools, which are generally the small unpopulated counties in the middle of the state.
Both issues could have been handled differently, IMHO.
The old system had two, somewhat valid, criticisms.
- The difference between the big schools and the rest in AAA was huge. The last time they did it, they purposefully made AAA smaller than the 1/3rd it should be and the difference was still 1000 students between the largest and the smallest. (If they did it the old way, exact thirds, the difference is over 1250). While AA was only 350, and, leaving out some real outliers, only 300 in A.
- The religious schools, mostly Catholic, one, recruit, and two, generally are based in cities, which has lots of advantages over the public A schools, which are generally the small unpopulated counties in the middle of the state.
Both issues could have been handled differently, IMHO.
Interesting that St Joe pulled kids from Boyd Co,, Lawrence Co Ky and Virginia among other places. They had girls b’ball recruiting budget equal to DD.
No way there was that much talent in Huntington, especially when you add in HHS and SVHS.
My mother back in the day was one of the driving forces in consolidating Huntington High/Huntington East and Milton/B-ville. I was pretty much gone by that time so have not clue how it is now. I just remember they took away the public pool that I rode my bike to almost everyday growing up -- in the basin where the Milton/B-ville school was built. Was kinda a bummer for me, spent many fun times there growing up.
When I was in high school, I seem to remember Parkersburg HS had around 3500 students. Then when South opened, both were among the largest in AAA. Still are, I believe.
I think Cabell Midland is the largest school in the state with around 2300 students.
We have nearly 30 high schools in the county I live in that are that size or bigger. That doesn't count the private schools.
Why would WV need more divisions? There are only like 29 AAA schools mentioned above. Sounds like over half the schools in WV make the playoffs in AAA. What are they going to do? Put every team in the playoffs?
Seems like the smaller schools in lower division need to go to 8 man football like they do out west in sparsely populated states. Or make their playoffs 8 teams instead of 16. Or you play your way out of region in football. Or you got to two division and combine A and AA.
WV jumped into school consolidation out of NECESSITY; not just to follow some "trend".
Early 50s, McDowell County had 98,000 people (more than Monongalia County, Berkeley, etc., and a few others at the time, perhaps Cabell) and NINE high schools. Five were white schools, four were black schools. Integration in mid to late 50s and the 60s along with mechanization in the coal industry soon brought massive changes. At one time, Welch was a AAA school, and Big Creek, Northfork, Kimball, Gary, Iaeger, and Gary District were all AA schools; with a couple other county high schools in Class A.
Today, County down to probably under 20,000, and two high schools remain after years of consolidations: Mountain View and River View, both are Class A schools. No way could the County have financially supported anywhere near the number of schools it once had, having lost nearly 80 percent of its people!!
Oh I agree that nothing is a one-size fits all.
I also think you virtually kill a town by having the school located outside of town next to nothing in particular.
We are still inconsistent. There are two medium sized schools six miles apart within Fairmont, for instance. But education-wise, consolidating is not as advantageous as one would be led to believe. It’s all about $$$ and nothing else.
Morgantown High with 1851 (9th graders are not counted by the SSAC), then Cabell Midland, Parkersburg High, Musselman, Huntington, Wheeling Park, and Parkersburg South.
Which brings up another issue. In football, the AAA schools are pretty much in sorts of pods, with little in between. Lots of insane road trips, and the rare school that ends up AAA outside of those regions has regular season travel issues. 14 are in the I-64/I-77 Huntington-Charleston-Parkersburg triangle, 5 are in north central WV, 6 are in the eastern panhandle; with just 4 remaining the the south and just 3 in the dying even quicker northern panhandle. Winfield and Nitro went to AA when they made AAA smaller, but both will be back soon.
Greenbrier East is the most hurt by that. Woodrow Wilson was often the closest AAA school to them.
Because Cross Lanes is still growing, while most parts of the state are emptying fast.
The only growing areas were Morgnatown and the eastern panhandle. Now that Mylan is exiting Mo'hole, that town will feel the harsh hit as well. Leaves just the eastern panhandle now.
Hurricane/Teays Valley area is increasing in size right now too.
That’s true. The outmigration from Huntington and Charleston adding to the Putnam Co. surge. Can’t say that I blame anyone for that.
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