MSSportsGuy

Just thinking out loud but in 1A you have Tupelo Christian and Resurrection on two different ends of the state. That's one place it wouldn't work. I don't think this is the problem some schools are making this out to be. What have these schools won in the grand scheme of the association? Not much compared to some public schools. Unfair? Maybe, but I'm not sure anything in life can ever be completely fair.

I'd say the private schools pushed back big time. The fact is these schools have competed for years in the association and while some have been very successful in several sports, it wasn't until PCS beat Booneville in the baseball finals last season that it was ever mentioned. It was short sighted, knee jerk reaction by the MHSAA. A similar thing happened years back when Cathedral, St.Al, and Greenville St Joe's left for the MAIS because they could no longer allow kids to play who lived across the river in Arkansas and Louisiana. Again, a knee jerk reaction by a few upset coaches in the MHSAA. I'm glad the MHSAA has reversed the ruling for now. Now, to get us back to 5 classes among the remaining member schools.

It would be good for 1A to just have 4 regions again and not have such spread out/thin schedules.

Wheeler is north of Baldwyn in Prentiss County. Booneville is a district and so is Baldwyn. Prentiss County Schools are Wheeler, Thrasher, Jumpertown and New Site, with Marietta and Hills Chapel both being K-8 schools that feed into New Site for 9-12.

As a native of Northeast MS, they are a section of the state that has resisted consolidation. Falkner and Walnut merging into North Tippah has been a civil war and they are only 8 miles apart with very similar student bodies. I agree there is a lot of school consolidation that "should" take place but local boards often don't want to make the tough calls for political reasons. Some of these small schools are due to being in separate districts and that's always been my bigger issue. Thrasher HS and Booneville HS are 5.5 miles apart but in different districts. Wheeler is 6 miles from Baldwyn but again, different districts. Hatley and Amory are about 5 miles apart as well but different districts. Unless district consolidation happens, there won't be any movement on those fronts. That's just a small sample, but indicative of a larger issue.

Things change of course but I truly don't see the state intervening in local school closures. Districts yes, and many are needed but not schools within the districts. Covington County only has one district already and while Mt. Olive and Collins consolidation may be needed, the board hasn't decided to pull the trigger for whatever reason. Next year is an election year and I don't actually look for any monumental legislation period.

Don't you remember it was to increase excitement?

I can't imagine any will be looking to join with the new multiplier. The association was very short sighted when they told the river parochial schools they couldn't have athletes from across the border. It's not like Cathedra, St. Al, or Greenville St. Joe's were powerhouse programs and teams year in and year out in most sports. Like most things (7 classes....) a few coaches and admins got their boxers in a twist and leadership reacted.

It's tough to judge the borderline schools because just a few students who opt out or in of a school can change them. I believe the numbers MDE puts on their site reflect the October figures from last year and aren't updated during that year. I could be wrong and if so, educate me please. Just remember putting two schools who are maybe five students apart and close to one another geographically in different classes and divisions is done to increase excitement, just like making 7 classes. There is so much more excitement now than before it's impossible to contain (sarcasm). Wonder if the 1.5 multiplier will increase that excitement even more?

How about let's just have 10 Juco programs who all play each other in a round robin, then the champion get a national playoff bid without an additional playoff? That makes too much sense.

Honestly I'd love to see Juco football in Mississippi revamped. Let's be honest: the CC athletic programs don't bring in revenue, they are only expenses for the institutions. There is no TV money, limited sponsors, no merchandise revenue, etc. Yes, the same can be said for many small colleges, but our state doesn't have nearly as many as we have Juco programs. Stephens did what happens to a lot of people: he spoke out of emotions and didn't use his brain. He can't criticize the administration of the state association (which is essentially the arm of the CC Presidents) and not face repercussions.

There will be no merger, at least for now. Anything is possible of course, but the dynamics of the organizations and member schools does not lend itself to a clean merger involving all members.

It's not just 5A south that is wattered down but most of the divisions and classes. Five classes is more than enough for a state our size with a decreasing public school enrollment as well as school consolidation. Per the director, the new class "increased excitement" but in reality all it did was pump more money into the association. I spoke out about the stupidity of this before it ever played out and pretty much what I predicted would happen has come to pass. There are ways to shape the classes that reduce the size differentials, craft districts that reduce undue travel burden, and would almost certainly increase competition and subsequently excitement. We all know that isn't going to happen under the existing leadership. Neaves is from close to my home area in NE MS and I heard mostly positive things about him as a school adminstrator. I just think seven classes was one step too far to split hairs.

The week before their playoffs start 1A-4A almost all play their final game on Thursday night. It's a weird trend that started for some reason.

The season should be 11 weeks long with 10 games. Everyone needs a week off and it's good for the kids but at least give them a full schedule. Additionally, every school playing their last game on a Thursday night is stupid. Some teams have to play on Thursday nights due to a lack of officials but that's not an excuse when every single final game in the state is played on a Thursday. The small regions are part of the issue where we've gone down to 5, 4, or 3 teams in the lower classes is a big part of the problem. at the very least 1A should go back to 4 regions rather than 8. Of course, 6 classes or even 5 would be better than 7 but that's always been a sore spot for me.

Consolidation's strongest opponents are usually concerned about 1. athletics 2. a change in the racial balance of an institution, or some combination of the two. Bigger is not necessarily better as well all know. However, I fail to see how some communities expect to continue operating schools in very old facilities with a decreasing number of students without significant tax increases. District consolidation is probably a bigger soap box for me because it's dumb to have this many superintendents in a state our size just because it's the way it's always been. But a degree of school consolidation is also needed. As posted earlier the legislative committee formed will do next to nothing except possibly a few district consolidations but these conversations are necessary.

Yeah there are way more than 27 or 36 schools with under 1,000 students in PreK to Grade 12. I think that 27 number could be the districts with less than 1000 students. I still maintain I will be surprised if there are more than a handful of districts that are consolidated. A House Committee can say and think all they want but getting the House, Senate, and governor to approve bills that target individual schools in tiny communities seems beyond their concerns. We call agree with this but the law states currently the MDE Superintendent must make 90% of what the IHL commissioner makes. There is a bill filed each year to overturn this law but it never makes it out of committee. This has been the law for many years so it's not usually tied to the person sitting in the chair at MDE. This times 1,000. There is a statewide teacher pay scale based on years of experience and degrees earned. There is no such scale for superintendents. Some of them are grossly overpaid for the total number of students served as well as district complexity. This should be reined in even if districts don't ultimately consolidated.

there are more than 27 schools with under 1000 students preK to 12 but maybe there are that many districts. Hopefully district consolidation will actually come to fruition in some places where it would benefit the county and the students. the state has stayed out of individual school consolidations, letting the district boards make that decision. I predict little will come from this besides maybe a couple of small districts with proven challenges will merge. And of course the association should go back to even 5 classes at this point but won’t.

I tend to agree, but travel could be an issue for some of them if they go MAIS. Tupelo Christian, St Patrick, and Resurrection don’t have many MAIS options that wouldn’t involve significantly more travel. I’ll be curious how this plays out.

I don't think this is a great decision and may wind up having some schools leave for the MAIS. When the association decided schools along the river couldn't let non-MS resident athletes participate several parochial schools left. This may cause a similar defection. The Booneville fan base was very vocal on FB about Presbyterian Christian winning the 3A baseball championship over them. Neaves is from that area and probably heard a good bit of chatter about it from old friends. These decisions to me generally seems short sighted and knee jerk reactions to a small number of coaches, principals, and parents.

With Bama going back to 6 classes (different circumstances but...) maybe that will make the association and their members realize 7A is spreading around the schools too much for miniscule enrollment differences once the top layer is taken care of. Five classes are probably enough for a state our size.

And yes 7A needs to go away. More consolidation will eventually force their hands hopefully

Blake Levine has reported 1A Thrasher in Prentiss County isn't playing next season due to lack of numbers. That's near my hometown area and their numbers and record have never been good but hate to see another loss in the 1A ranks. Hopefully it's temporary but these things tend not to come back once they are gone. There really should be some consolidation between Thrasher and Jumpertown.

I will go a step further and say we could cut the number of counties in half. Three million is our total population and isn't exactly growing. Cut the number of counties, legislators, school districts, community colleges and IHLs in half and you are talking about serious savings.

I looked at the AHSAA site and saw their numbers. The gap between the biggest 6A and smallest is about 1000 students. I wonder if their association was worried about decreasing excitement with such a large enrollment difference.