The New Mexico Activities Association has proposed new alignments and classifications for New Mexico high schools.
The changes will affect local high schools from Class A to Class AAAA. Although none of the local schools will be moving up in classification, several may be moving to a lower Class and all local schools could see changes in their district competition.
It is the smaller schools where the Association’s proposed changes will likely generate the most controversy and are already attracting criticism.
Pojoaque High School would remain in Class AAA. This class would now include schools with enrollments of 351 to 800 students, But changes to District 2AAA, of which Pojoaque is now a member, would change the competition and significantly affect Pojoaque’s gate receipts for varsity basketball games.
Presently, District 2AAA is the largest Class AAA district in the state and in addition to Pojoaque includes: St. Michaels, Santa Fe Indian School, West Las Vegas, Robertson and Raton.
Under the Association’s proposal, St. Michaels and Indian School would be moved to District 4AAA, which includes Hope Christian High School, Sandia Prep and East Mountain.
“Those are two biggest gates year-after year,” Pojoaque athletic director Matt Martinez said.
The realignment of District 4AAA is the result of a compromise, Association spokesman Mario Martinez said. The Association’s proposed change to the district was done to combat complaints that private schools have an unfair advantage because they recruit players. All of the members of District 4AAA are private schools with the exception of East Mountain, which is a charter school.
“We compromised by having them play each other in district,” Mario Martinez said.
However, the competition in District 2AAA will be weakened as a result. The St. Michaels boys basketball team and Pojoaque have become rivals within the district and annual contenders for the state championship. St. Michaels and Pojoaque have won the last three state titles combined.
Despite the fact that his team hasn’t beaten St. Michaels in three years, Pojoaque coach Joey Trujillo doesn’t want to see the Horsemen leave District 2AAA.
“It takes away the competitiveness of our district,” Trujillo said.
Matt Martinez would like to see the enrollment level raised so that present Class AAA members Lovington, Portales and Bloomfield would not become members of Class AAAA in 2010 as proposed. With the loss of those schools, Class AAA would become the smallest classification in New Mexico high school competition. It would shrink from its present 27 members to just 20 members in 2010.
“Winning Class AAA wouldn’t mean anything,” Martinez said.
Mario Martinez agrees that Class AAA would be weakened, but it may open up opportunities for other schools.
“Triple A would not be as competitive, but it depends on who you’re talking to,” he said. “The schools in District 1AAA with 400 students aren’t going to be sad to see Bloomfield move up to Class AAAA.”
Class AA, which would include schools that have an enrollment of 151 to 350 students, would lose Mesa Vista, McCurdy, Escalante and Coronado in basketball to Class A. In the other sports, such as baseball, football and cross country, Classes A-AA are combined, but they are split in basketball. These changes would significantly impact traditional rivalries and travel plans of several local teams.
Mesa Vista would became a member of District 4A in 2010, which would include Coronado, Escalante and Shiprock Northwest. Presently, Mesa Vista belongs to District 3AA which includes traditional rivals McCurdy, Peñasco and Questa.
“I like it in all the sports except basketball,” Mesa Vista athletic director Ruben Lucero said. “We lose some of our traditional rivals and having to go to Shiprock isn’t good.”
Lucero was worried that having his team classified as Class A would discourage schools in higher classifications from scheduling the Trojans.
“Some teams aren’t going to want to play us if we’re Class A,” he said. “If they’re in a higher Class than we are, it could hurt them in the seedings for the postseason if we beat them.”
Schools like Mesa Vista can choose to play in a higher Class.
‘They can certainly opt to play up (to Class AA),” Mario Martinez said
McCurdy would also lose some traditional rivals and would be placed in District 1A with Cimarron, Moreno Valley and Questa.
“In girls basketball, we gain an excellent opponent in Cimarron, who traditionally are state contenders,” McCurdy athletic director Eric Vigil said. “In boys basketball, it takes away from our traditional rivalries, but gives us more of a fighting chance in district.”
Like Lucero, travel costs and logistics will create some problems and unusual situations for McCurdy. Vigil also mentioned gate receipts.
“We’ll have to travel two hours to Cimarron, where as Mesa Vista is 20 minutes away,” Vigil said. “Peñasco and Mesa Vista are traditionally huge gates for us because they have a large following.”
Dulce would lose traditional District 2AA rival Escalante because the Hawks would remain in Class AA, while Escalante would drop to Class A. Dulce would become a member of District 1AA in basketball and that would require extensive wintertime travel. The other four teams in District 1AA — Rehoboth, Navajo Pine, Newcomb and Navajo Prep — are at least 80 miles away and as far as 200 miles away from Dulce.
In contrast, Escalante is just 36 miles from Dulce and Coronado within an hour’s drive of Dulce. Both are presently members of District 2AA, to which Dulce now belongs.
A call to Dulce athletic director and boys basketball coach Issac Royston for comment was not returned.
The Association cites geographic location as a major contributor on trying to keep travel time down, costs down and loss of school time to a minimum.
“Because of New Mexico’s geography, it’s one of the most difficult parts,” Mario Martinez said. “If you’re going to have districts, realistically, that’s where Dulce fits best.”
Another factor in determining districts was the desire to make them competitive by having at least four members.
“What are you else are you going to do?” Mario Martinez said. “Have two- or three-team districts?”
The proposal would also create a new class among smaller schools. In basketball and volleyball competition, schools with an enrollment of 0 to 70 students would be classified as Class B. This new classification would include 24 New Mexico schools but no Rio Arriba County schools.
“There was pressure from the really small schools that it was the only way they would even have a chance to play for a state championship,” Mario Martinez said.
Under the new proposal, Española Valley High School may renew its rivalry with Santa Fe High School in District 2AAAA competition. Although Española would remain in the same district (2AAAA) and Class (AAAA), the competition would be tougher
Santa Fe would become the largest Class AAAA school in the state. Española athletic director Dave Fontaine has reservations about having to play the Demons. and the expansion of Class AAAA, which would increase to 31 schools as opposed to the present 26 members. Class AAAA would become the largest Class in the state, along with Class A, which also has 31 members.
“Any change hurts some schools and helps others,” Fontaine said. “Competing in Class AAAA and District 2AAAA against schools that may nave 500 to 600 more students than we do would be a challenge for us.”
Under the proposal, schools that enroll 800 to 1,650 students would be classified in Class AAAA. The enrollment figures are based on 80-day enrollment figures provided by the state Education Department. The enrollment figures were for the eighth through 11th grades because it was felt that these figures provided a better picture of what a school’s enrollment truly represents, according to the proposal.
Santa Fe, with an enrollment of 1,644 students, falls just within Class AAAA. Española’s enrollment figure is 1,107 and under the proposal Santa Fe, Española, Los Alamos, Taos and Capital High Schools would compose District 2AAAA in 2010. Bernalillo would become a member of District 5AAAA.
Fontaine questions the Association’s projected enrollment for Española.
“Right now, we’re at 950 students,” he said. “Their projections for us are well above what we have now.”
The addition of Santa Fe could hurt Española teams that are now able to finish in second place in District 2AAAA competition and earn spots in the post season.
“I’m not in favor of it,” Fontaine said.
Santa Fe and Española were formerly members of District 1AAAA along with Albuquerque Sandia, Gallup and Farmington.
The Association created a new classification (Class AAAAA) in 2000 that included New Mexico’s largest high schools. Santa Fe’s enrollment at that time placed it in Class AAAAA as a member of District 2AAAAA. There were 23 schools in Class AAAAA and 26 in Class AAAA.
Española’s enrollment in 2000 placed it in Class AAAA, where it competed in District 2AAAA with Taos, Los Alamos, Capital and Albuquerque’s St. Pius X High Schools. In 2005, St. Pius was moved to District 6AAAA and Bernalillo was transferred to District 2AAAA.
The Association’s member schools are encouraged to provide positive and negative written feedback to the proposal by Feb. 27, and the Association’s Board of Directors will then vote on a preliminary version of the alignment. Schools will then have the opportunity to appeal to the Association’s Board of Directors by June 2009, and the new alignment and classifications will be finalized for the 2010-2011 thru 2013-2014 seasons June 2009 by a vote of the Board of Directors.
“This is just a proposal,” Mario Martinez said. “Nothing is set in stone.”