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NCHSAA's new classification plan places North Lenoir in 4A; Lenoir schools weigh travel and competition
Summary
District athletic director briefed the board on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's new eight-class alignment using first-month average daily membership; draft placements put North Lenoir in 4A and Kinston and South Lenoir in 3A, prompting concern about travel costs and competitive balance and an appeal process.
The Lenoir County Board of Education received a briefing on Jan. 6 about the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's (NCHSAA) new realignment plan, which will take effect in the 2025-26 school year and assigns schools to eight classifications based solely on average daily membership (ADM) for the first month of the school year.
Mister Harvey, who presented the item, said the NCHSAA adopted new bylaws in May 2023 that replace the old formula (which combined ADM, free and reduced-lunch rates and past athletic success) with a straight ADM-based approach. "This new plan shall solely use the average daily membership or ADM for the 1st month of the school year to determine athletic classification status," he said.
Under the draft published Dec. 18 and discussed at the meeting, North Lenoir High School was placed in the 4A classification. Kinston High School and South Lenoir High School were placed in 3A. Harvey described those placements as a first draft and urged that member schools may submit concerns and alternate conference proposals; the NCHSAA will issue a second draft and then allow formal appeals.
Board members and district staff identified travel, fuel costs and student time on buses as central concerns in formulating any appeal. Harvey provided local figures to illustrate travel exposure: the district logged about 1.4 million miles across yellow bus and activity bus routing last year; presenters said fuel, maintenance and other prorated operating costs make longer travel and out-of-county conference alignments costly.
The presentation also noted local commitment to continuing cross-county games regardless of official conference alignments. "Our schools are committed to competing against each other locally," Harvey said, adding that Lenoir County schools historically have played many of the teams listed in the draft conference proposals.
Harvey said member schools would receive a memo detailing how to submit concerns and alternate proposals; he expected a second draft in late February or early March and confirmed a formal appeals window afterward. The new alignment will become official in August 2025.
No board action was taken that night; staff said they would help any school in the district that requests material for an appeal.
