More than 10 schools will appeal SCHSL class placement
Lou BezjakGray Collegiate, Brookland-Cayce, Dreher, James Island, South Florence and Beaufort are among the schools appealing to the S.C. High School League for their 2026-28 classification placement.
More than a dozen high schools in total are all asking to drop one classification, The State has learned, from what the SCHSL assigned them during the latest round of realignment.
Schools had until 1 p.m. Wednesday to inform the SCHSL if they wanted to appeal the classification they were put in for the next two school years.
Appeals will be heard by the SCHSL’s executive committee on Jan. 13-14. A second appeal, if necessary, would go before the league’s appellate panel on Jan. 15-16.
Gray Collegiate was in Class 4A in the most recent realignment, and in Class 2A before that. The War Eagles opened up a second campus in Irmo earlier this school year. They’re appealing their new placement in 5A.
James Island was in Class 5A Division II this year, but the classification isn’t splitting its top class this year. James Island was placed in 5A again and will make its case to drop to 4A.
Realignment happens in the state every two years and attempts to level the competitive playing field among schools. This year’s realignment formula is based on 45-day enrollment numbers from grades 9-11 and featured an out--of-zone multiplier for the second time. That multiplier took each student who lives outside the school’s assigned attendance zone and counted them as three for total enrollment purposes.
South Florence and West Florence high schools will make appeals, according to state athletics sources, that contend reporting errors were made in counting their out-of-zone students and in how new students were counted from a merger with Florence School District 4 (Timmonsville).
Lowcountry schools Beaufort and Hilton Head Island are appealing their placement in 4A and want to be in 3A. Factoring in enrollment and the multiplier, the two schools are the 40th and 41st schools among the 42 assigned to 4A.
Brookland-Cayce, the 39th-largest school in 4A, is expected to appeal to move to the 3A. Dreher (25th in 4A) also is appealing to move to Class 3A. During this year’s realignment, it also was decided that Class A (league’s smallest classification) would have the most teams in it, between 62 and 74 schools, with the chance of being split for sports that have more than 45 participating schools.
Other classifications would be between 36 and 44 schools.
Summary
Gray Collegiate wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
South Florence wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
West Florence wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
James Island wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
Eastside wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
Indian Land wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
Lucy Beckham wants to go from Class 5A to 4A
Beaufort wants to go from Class 4A to 3A
Brookland-Cayce wants to go from 4A to 3A
Dreher wants to go from Class 4A to 3A
Hilton Head Island wants to go from 4A to 3A
Fox Creek wants to go from Class 4A to Class 3A
The State
