Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008

Hanford to remain Class 3A, but ask to join new Big Nine

By René Ferrán, Herald staff writer

The Richland School District has decided that Hanford will not opt up in the next classification cycle but will remain a 3A school and petition to join the soon-to-be-created 4A league, Hanford athletic director Tom Hegarty said Wednesday.

RSD's decision comes almost a month after the Kennewick School District decided that all three of its high schools -- Kamiakin, Kennewick and Southridge -- would opt up from 3A to 4A.

"Just because the district across town went up didn't mean we had to," Hegarty said. "I think our kids should play in postseason competition at the level we are in terms of our size. That's what is best for our kids."

The announcement comes one day after the eastside's 4A and 3A schools met in Moses Lake to talk about ways to reorganizing the Columbia Basin League for the two-year cycle starting in the fall of 2008.

At the meeting, Jim Meyerhoff, an assistant executive director for the WIAA, said that if there were seven 3A schools on the eastside, they likely would draw two state allocations in each year of the next cycle.

"That was a factor, but it wasn't even close to being the deciding factor," Hegarty said.

Hanford joins West Valley (Yakima) and Sunnyside from the CBL and North Central, Rogers, East Valley and Mount Spokane from the Greater Spokane Lague as the remaining eastside 3A schools.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, however, seven of the eight CBL 4A schools by enrollment -- Davis, Eastmont, Eisenhower, Moses Lake, Pasco, Walla Walla and Wenatchee; Richland was absent -- met to set the parameters of the new Mid-Columbia league.

Jack Irion, assistant superintendent for the Yakima School District, said certain decisions regarding scheduling and bylaws for the new league were already in the works, and that any school either opting up to 4A or petitioning to join the league would not be involved in that process.

That didn't sit well with KSD officials.

"It was such a jaw-dropper, we're still digesting it all," said Dave Bond, assistant superintendent for secondary education for KSD. "We need to have more conversations to figure out what we'll do next."

One option not being discussed is for KSD to reverse its December decision and to remain 3A. The district can change course until the WIAA Executive Board meeting Jan. 26. "I'm optimistic that we'll figure things out," Bond said. "I see (Tuesday's) meeting as just a starting point."

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