Public/private issue simmering in Georgia sports

On the surface, the public/private school issue in Georgia has been swept under the rug, with the Georgia High School Association preferring to deal with the more statewide issue of travel when it comes to the now-delayed reclassification plan for the 2012-14 cycle.

Appearances, in this case, are deceiving.

While solving travel issues has to be at the forefront of any reclassification plan, the public/private issue continues to fester. The problem is especially prevalent in Class A, where 43 of the state's 53 private schools compete and where those schools win the great majority of championships.

In fact, since the start of the 2008 school year, Class A private schools have won 26 of the 28 state championships outside of large team sports football, wrestling and track. The great majority of private schools are in the Atlanta area, where, of course, most of the state's populace resides.

The public-school argument is simple: Private schools have a much, much broader area from which to pull students than public schools do and can be more choosy and aggressive in seeking athletes. The issue has become so heated in recent months that some Class A schools in southern Georgia are rumored to be considering leaving the GHSA if something isn't done about the private-school dominance.

Lester Galyon wouldn't go that far, but the successful Gordon Lee girls' basketball coach understands the frustration. In four of the past five seasons his teams have lost to private schools in the state tournament, including a 35-point rout against eventual state champion Wesleyan this season.

What bothers Galyon is the fact the proposed "4/8" reclassification plan does not address the private-school issue. That plan, which was approved by the GHSA reclassification committee and may get voted in as soon as next month by the executive committee, would make each of the four classifications larger for the regular season and would divide to eight for the playoffs. If anything, it would bring even more private schools, such as Greater Atlanta Christian, into Class A.

"I haven't heard all the details on the 4/8 proposal, but to me it doesn't do anything to solve the public/private issue in Class A," Galyon said. "Some of the best private schools in Atlanta aren't going to have larger enrollments than they currently do, so they aren't going anywhere.

"As a small school in our area, we're working hard to be competitive, but it's hard knowing that making even the final four will be very difficult. This is my 10th year, and I've had great players like Ashlan Clarkson, Kori Penland and now Holli Brooks, but we've yet to make it to Macon [for the final four]. We're not always going to have these types of athletes, either."

Galyon has little issue with schools such as Wesleyan, which has a history of excellence and does a great job of developing players. What he says has to change is the practice of the small private schools totally revamping their rosters each season, something public schools cannot do.

In the 2009-10 season, Gaylon's 25-1 team was beaten in the first round of the playoffs by St. Francis, a program that won seven games the previous season and hired a new coach that brought in several new, experienced players from the area.

"It was a completely new group from the previous year," he said. "They hired a new coach and the rumor was she had ties to an AAU team and brought in several of those players. Their roster changed again this year. There's a pattern where they aren't developing their kids. They're just going out and getting new ones. I can handle getting beat by teams that have taken their kids and developed them, but the other way needs to change."

The St. Francis team that finished 7-19 in 2008-09 would have returned eight players the next season, according to the team roster on gasports.com, but only four made the team. In addition, five players - two seniors and three juniors - were significant contributors to the team in 2009-10. This past season the program had four new juniors and seniors who had never played on the team before.

"Yes, the private schools have an advantage because they have a larger area to pull students, but [GHSA officials] need to address the whole issue of how that advantage takes place," Galyon summarized. "It's not just school size that matters."

The GHSA did form a committee to discuss the public/private issue, and it will report its findings at the next meeting. Among the proposals many public schools would like to see is letting them play the private schools during the regular season and then splitting them for the playoffs.

"I really haven't heard anything at all concerning the private schools, but maybe it would make sense to split them for the playoffs," Ridgeland football coach Mark Mariakis said. "There are definitely some advantages a private school has over the public schools, so I wouldn't complain if they did get moved out."

There is also talk of going the Tennessee route and completely splitting public schools from private schools that offer financial aid. That is a plan Dalton girls' basketball coach Jeff McKinney would like to see.

"It's simple," he said. "Schools that are allowed to search for players should be in their own classification. It should be that easy."

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