The Georgia High School Association, in an attempt to keep its membership intact, voted during a meeting Tuesday morning in Macon to split Class A public and private schools in every sport for the postseason playoffs.
The move, approved by a 36-12 margin, will create separate championships in Class A and go into effect beginning this fall. The vote came on the heels of a movement organized mostly by south Georgia Class A public schools to pull out of the GHSA.
The ruling Tuesday will create two 16-team Class A playoffs and give the GHSA, which will go to six classifications next year, seven championships. The public and private schools still will play each other during the regular season.
Gordon Lee associate athletic director Greg Ellis, who is on the advisory committee of the proposed Georgia Public School Association, believes the public/private split will keep the GHSA intact and is the right direction to take.
“We’re very excited,” Ellis said. “It’s going to be good for everybody involved. We and [fellow northwest Georgia Class A public school] Trion are definitely in the same situation. It’s very difficult to compete on the playing field we have right now. Now we’ll be able to compete against programs like our own.