After months of discussion and deliberation, both Boyd-Buchanan and Grace Academy have decided to announce their intention to move to Division II in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Those two join Chattanooga Christian, which announced last fall its plan to compete in D-II, as the first schools in the state to make those intentions known publicly.
"We understand that as this school year winds down there are families out there who are already looking ahead at prospective schools for next year and beyond," Grace Academy headmaster Matt Pollock said. "We felt it was in our best interest to get the word out that we will be competing in D-II and can now offer financial aid."
Last September the TSSAA's nine-member Legislative Council, which sets the rules for the state's high school athletic teams, voted in five new proposals directed at resolving the decades-old debate about public schools and private schools competing against one another.
Among the new rules was an addition to the TSSAA bylaws definition of "financial assistance program" to include all part-time employment, including "work study," used to offset the cost of tuition. The new rules put the onus on the individual schools to determine whether they will discontinue financial assistance and work-study programs to remain with public schools in Division I or continue those programs and switch to D-II.
The new classifications go into effect with the 2017-18 school year, and all member schools have until Oct. 14 of this year to give the TSSAA notice which division they choose.
"We feel like we've been patient and done our due diligence before making this decision," Boyd-Buchanan athletic director Joe Pope said. "We really tried to take athletics out of it as much as possible and talk about what our mission is and what we're trying to accomplish. This is what's best for our school family.
"Every year we've had to turn people away who would've been a great fit for us because we couldn't give financial aid to athletes. We regularly lose kids every year that go to public schools or to the private schools that could give financial aid. We've seen them leave here after being with us through middle school and go on to become all-state players at other schools. That was frustrating, but it's exciting to know that this move will allow us to keep those kids and reach even more now."
Currently, 24 private schools, mostly in the smaller classifications, still compete in the public school division and have their enrollment multiplied for classification purposes by 1.8 - the highest rate in the nation among athletic associations.
Additionally, under the TSSAA's new D-I regulations, if any student in a family receives financial aid, then every other member of that family is ineligible to play sports.
"We could give need-based aid to someone in the band or the choir, but not athletes. It drove us nuts," Grace Academy athletic director Les Compton said. "So when this came about, we saw it as an opportunity. It's a challenge for a small school our size, but there are now opportunities that we didn't have before."
Added Pope: "We couldn't find any benefits to staying in D-I anymore. You still get your enrollment multiplied and you'll lose more kids to other schools who can give financial aid now. We're very excited. I see nothing but positives from this move."
The last two local private schools that currently play in the public school division - Notre Dame and Silverdale Baptist Academy - have not made decisions about their futures. Notre Dame athletic director Matt Pobieglom said it could be as late as August before the church and school board decide.
"Although those three Chattanooga schools are the only ones who have publicly said they intend to go D-II as of now, we anticipate many more to make that decision before the deadline," TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress said. "Looking at it, 18 of the 24 private schools that are currently playing in the public school division are doing things the rules would affect, so either they have to change what they're doing for athletes or move to D-II."
Similar to CCS and its new facilities, officials from both Boyd-Buchanan and Grace said their schools are in the process of building or planning upgrades for their athletic and academic facilities to remain competitive with other private schools.
"We just completed a new academic building and are now turning our attention to athletics," said Boyd-Buchanan president Jill Hartness. "We understand it's important to remain competitive with our facilities and our coaching staff in order to compete.
"It's athletic and academic improvement because people are going to expect more as we get into this new league. We have to be ready."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.