Update: GHSA Votes for New 6-A Class

UPDATED: at 1:32 p.m. The Georgia High School Association executive committee Tuesday voted in a new 6-A classification. 

The 50-member panel, meeting in Macon, rejected a controversial 4/8 system that would have changed groupings during playoffs.

Formal classification assignments are not set yet, and may not be determined until the fall. The top 15 percent in enrollment are expected to go to the new 6-A class. The formal head count likely will be this fall.

Loganville High School athletic director Tommy Stringer sits on the board and was one of the members casting a vote. Prior to the vote, Stringer said he was reserving comment until after the vote.

The committee was scheduled to vote in March on what has been called the 4/8 plan, which would reduce the number of classifications from five to four during the regular season, then split the four into an upper and lower tier for the playoffs, thus producing champions in eight categories.

The 4/8 plan was the one recommended by a 7-5 vote of the GHSA's Reclassification Committee. Supporters say it allows teams to play opponents closer to home, thus reducing the time and expense of traveling long distances.

The six classifications is said to eliminate some of the excess travel currently experienced - something that is important going forward as school budgets struggle with increased fuel costs.

The new classification will go into effect in the 2012-2013 athletic school year.

(Patch contributor Bill Johnson contributed to this article.)

What do you think of the proposed GHSA changes?