Private high schools in Kansas could move up a class under unique multiplier proposal
Public and private high schools have always been on the same footing in Kansas when it comes to sorting them into classifications for high school sports.
But that could be coming to an end, as soon as the 2022-23 school year.
The Wichita Eagle has learned that the Kansas State High School Activities Association executive board unanimously passed a multiplier proposal on Wednesday that could move private schools up one classification from public schools with similar enrollment. The proposal will be discussed and examined by school administrators from across the state in October.
“It’s nowhere near a finished deal,” a source who works for KSHSAA said. “If you’re thinking in race terms, it’s out of the starting blocks but a long ways away from the finish line.”
While other states have implemented a blanket multiplier for private schools or a multiplier based on a school’s postseason success, Kansas is pushing forward with a proposal for a unique, three-pronged multiplier to classify private schools.
The premise is that every private school begins with a 1.0 multiplier on its enrollment. From there, it can either stay the same or go up based on three factors.
The first factor is based on geographic population, depending on the public school attendance area in which the private school is located. If there is a public school in the same area that is sorted into Class 6A or 5A, then 0.30 will be added to the private school’s multiplier. If a private school is in the same area as a Class 4A or 3A public school, then 0.15 would be added to the private school’s multiplier.
For example, since Bishop Carroll, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Trinity Academy, Collegiate and Independent are all in Wichita where there are Class 6A public schools, then all of those Wichita private schools would have 0.30 added to their multiplier. The same would apply to Bishop Miege, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy in the Kansas City area.
The second factor is the number of state championships in all sports a private school has won over the previous five-year period. If that total is more than 10, then the private school would have 0.30 added to their multiplier. If that total is between five and nine, then 0.15 would be added to the private school’s multiplier.
That means successful private schools such as Carroll, Collegiate, Aquinas and Miege would have another 0.30 added to their multiplier, giving them at least a 1.60 multiplier.
The third and final factor is based on a private school’s free and reduced lunch population. If that total figure is below 20 percent, then 0.15 would be added to the private school’s multiplier.
After the three-pronged process is completed for each private school, then that multiplier would be used on the school’s enrollment and ultimately be the number used to sort them into a classification.
It should be noted that the proposal states that a private school cannot move up more than one classification and cannot force a private school playing 8-man football to move up to 11-man football. The proposal also states there is no appeals process.
