VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Board of Education wants Valdosta High School to remain a AAAAA school.
At the Board’s meeting on Monday night, the eight Board members voted unanimously to approve a motion to petition the Georgia High School Association to let Valdosta High compete in Class AAAAA next year.
“I certainly understand the logic of wanting to stay in AAAAA,” said Valdosta High athletic director Rick Tomberlin, who indicated he did not have a strong opinion either way. “I think we’re a pillar in the largest classification. I can understand the logic of AAAA, but economically, with travel, it might be beneficial to stay in AAAAA.
“I think our (football) players and our students would probably rather play in AAAAA ... You’ve got to consider not just football, but the other sports as well.”
According to the GHSA’s classification numbers, Valdosta High is a AAAA-sized school. Its classification number was 1,858.5 students, according to figures released by the GHSA last week. That would make Valdosta the fourth-largest AAAA school, and put it 57 students below the smallest AAAAA school, Shiloh.
But once the classification numbers are released, schools may petition the GHSA to move up to a higher classification. A committee would then review the petition, and decide whether or not to approve it. After that, the school will be assigned to a region.
The Board discussed the matter for several minutes, with Warren Lee expressing concerns about the amount of travel VHS teams would potentially have if they moved down to AAAA. The Board then voted on the motion, and unanimously approved it.
This is the first time Valdosta High has been in a position to move down in classification. Since the GHSA expanded to five classifications in 2000, Valdosta has always had AAAAA enrollment numbers. Until now.
If Valdosta plays in AAAAA next year, it will likely be in a region with longtime region foes Lowndes, Colquitt County, Tift County and Coffee. Current Region 1-AAAAA teams Warner Robins, Northside and Houston County are expected to move down to AAAA.
Playing up in AAAAA could save Valdosta High’s athletic teams a lot of travel. By playing in Region 1-AAAAA, the teams will have about a five-mile drive to Lowndes, about a 45-mile drive to both Tift and Colquitt and around a 70-mile drive to Coffee. If Valdosta had chosen to play in AAAA, its teams would likely have around a 40-mile trip to Thomas County Central, an 80-mile trip to Bainbridge — and possibly several much-longer trips. The current Region 1-AAAA consists of Thomas County Central, Bainbridge, Lee County, Americus-Sumter and central Georgia schools Westside (Macon), Hardaway, Harris County, Upson-Lee and Jones County.
