Berea High realignment appeal denied again by SCHSL; school not giving up, though
Berea High's quest to fight its proposed placement in Class AAAA by the SCHSL hit another roadblock Wednesday morning.
The SCHSL Executive Committee denied Berea's appeal in Columbia, voting 8-2 against its request to remain in Class AAA, where it has competed for the past two academic years.
"They told us everybody has newcomers," Berea athletic director Drew Chisholm told The Greenville News. "... And that everybody has the same problem that we do. ... I thought we went out of our way to show how really it is unique. But we were told that we are not unique, because everybody has the same problems that we have."
The argument that Berea is making, according to a copy of the letter filed to begin the appeal process and obtained by The News, is that "Berea High School sits at the center of a multiculturally diverse community. Many factors in the surrounding community skew an accurate count of the real time enrollment of Berea High School."
Berea initially appealed to the Class AAA and Class AAAA executive committees last month. The Class AAAA committee denied the appeal, and Class AAA approved it. Both committees have to approve an appeal for it to pass.
The school has one more opportunity for its appeal, Feb. 22, before the SCHSL Appellate Panel. Chisholm said the school plans to take its appeal to the panel.
Previous coverage: SCHSL wants Berea High to move up a classification. Here's why.
Berea is the only school in Greenville County among the seven that are proposed to move classifications that would placed in a higher classification by the SCHSL.
According to a copy of the appeal filed to the SCHSL, Berea's 45th-day enrollment count was 1,025, a total that deems the school large enough to be placed in Class AAAA, but barely. Another Greenville County school, Travelers Rest, has an enrollment count of 976 -- 49 fewer students than Berea in grades 9 through 11 -- but Travelers Rest is proposed to moved down from AAAA to AAA this fall. Berea argues that because of the makeup of its student body, it actually has far fewer students eligible to participate in extracurricular activities.
More SCHSL realignment:
► Greenville schools face changes in SCHSL's realignment plan. Here's how they could appeal
► SCHSL realignment shifts HS football power balance. Here's how things change in Upstate SC
► SCHSL realignment tends to bring attention to football. Other sports feel its impact, too
Joe Dandron covers high school sports for The Greenville News. Contact him at jdandron@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @JoeMDandron. You can send in scores, stats and story tips to 864Huddle@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Berea High's appeal to remain in AAA denied. School has one shot left
