There were no changes involving Randolph County schools in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s second draft of conference alignments.
That revised draft was released this week.
“What I gather is our schools are pretty happy where they are,” said Stephen Gainey, superintendent of the Randolph County School System.
RCSS has six high schools as part of the NCHSAA. Gainey began a term as NCHSAA president last summer, so has a keen eye on the topic.
Appeals and comments from schools regarding the conference make-ups are due Tuesday. The realignment committee is scheduled to meet again Feb. 3-4.
“A tweak here and there would probably make everybody happier,” Gainey said.
He also pointed out that shifting one school to a different proposed conference is bound to impact several other schools so there’s a balancing act required.
The NCHSAA is expanding from four classifications to eight classifications beginning with the next school year.
Based on the conference drafts, Randolph County schools will be represented in four different NCHSAA conferences.
Currently, seven schools in the county are all in the Piedmont Athletic Conference with the exception of Asheboro, which is a member of the Mid-Piedmont Conference.
“Anything is going to be a different direction after four years being together,” Gainey said of the PAC, which also includes Uwharrie Charter Academy.
A couple of realignment cycles ago and before his latest roles with the NCHSAA board, Gainey served on the realignment committee.
He has long been a proponent of the influence that athletics have on school communities. He again praised athletics directors and principals for their contributions in the process of administering those sports programs at the local levels.
Here are proposed conferences involving Randolph County schools:
Class 5A/6A: Asheboro (6A), Eastern Guilford (6A), Northern Guilford (6A), Southeast Guilford (6A), Northeast Guilford (5A), Southern Guilford (5A).
Class 4A/5A: Randleman (4A), Central Davidson (4A), Ledford (4A), Lexington (4A), High Point Andrews (4A), High Point Central (5A), Montgomery Central (5A).
Class 3A/4A: Eastern Randolph (3A), Southwestern Randolph (4A), Uwharrie Charter Academy (4A), North Moore (3A), Northwood (3A), Carrboro (4A), Jordan-Matthews (4A).
Class 3A: Providence Grove, Trinity, Wheatmore, East Davidson, Thomasville, West Davidson.
