By a vote of 35 to 27, the KSHSAA Board of Directors have passed a proposal to split 4A into two different classifications. The proposal will now be voted on by the individual 4A schools. A majority vote is needed from the schools for the proposal to go into effect.
The move would change the postseason for football, volleyball, basketball, baseball & softball.
4A currently has 64 schools, tied with 3A for the second most number of co-ed schools in a classification. The enrollment range in 4A is considerably wider than 3A, stretching from 258 students to 729. 3A stretches from 159 students to 256.
The push to make this change originally came from the Big 7 league, which consists of Santa Fe Trail, Hiawatha, Holton, Royal Valley, Jefferson West, Perry-Lecompton, Sabetha, and Nemaha Valley.
Click here to see the proposal set forth by the Big 7.
The proposal was first brought to the KSHSAA Board of Directors in September of 2012. From there, it was communicated to the different leagues in 4A that same fall. In November, a presentation was given to the KSHSAA Executive Board. At that point, the item was put on the agenda for the meeting tonight.
This is not the first time 4A has tried to push a change through. This past summer a proposal to change 4A into a 48-school class for football only was approved by a majority of the 4A schools, but did not pass the other schools effected by the change; 3A, 2A, & 1A.