When Brad Blew first arrived at Farmington, it was a Class A school with an even smaller high school enrollment than nearby U.S. 62 rival Prairie Grove.
The times have changed, and so has Farmington’s size and status. Farmington will move up to Class 5A under the 2014-16 reclassification numbers the Arkansas Activities Association released Tuesday.
“It’s hard to believe that we’re the 60th biggest school in the state,” said Blew, the school’s athletic director. “We’re in for a change at Farmington.”
The AAA reclassifies the state’s schools every two years, using the school’s average student enrollment in grades 9-11 over a three year span, then placing them in their respective classes by size. Farmington had an average enrollment of 501.33 students, an increase of more than 20 students since the current reclassification cycle and good for No. 60 in class size.
Farmington goes from being one of the largest Class 4A schools to one of the smaller Class 5A schools. Only two other public schools in Class 5A - De Queen and Morrilton - have smaller enrollments than Farmington.
“We’re not a small school any more,” Blew said. “There are a lot of good things that can come out of this. We’re a growing school district with some new facilities.”
There are some drawbacks to the move, Blew said. Farmington will become a member of the 5A-West Conference, meaning the Cardinals will not be in the same conference with longtime area rivals like Prairie Grove, Gentry and Gravette.
The biggest drawback will be the additional travel the school must make in its new conference. Farmington’s closest conference foe is likely to be Clarksville - 91 miles away - while Farmington’s longest trip in the present 4A-1Conference is Ozark at 73 miles.
“We’ve had the good life travel-wise,” Blew said. “Berryville was probably the hardest trip we had to make the past few years. I know our travel will greatly increase. It may be double, or even triple, of what we’ve done in the past.
“It’s going to change what we do a great deal.”
Huntsville will take over Farmington’s spot in Class 4A and end that school’s four-year tenure in Class 5A. Huntsville’s student average for the 2014-16 cycle is 484.67, down from 521 students in the current cycle, and caused that school’s rank to fall seven spots to No. 66.
Shiloh Christian, on the other hand, has a decision to make in the upcoming days. It chose to play as a Class5A school in the current cycle despite a Class 3A enrollment, but its students - plus the stipulation where private schools must play one class higher - could allow Shiloh Christian to be in Class 4A for the 2014-16 cycle.
“We have enjoyed being a member of the 5A-West schools,” Saints football coach and athletic director Josh Floyd said. “The other schools in the league have made us very welcome, and it’s run very professionally.
“But our travel budget could be an issue. We have spent more money on travel than we have ever spent before.”
Sports, Pages 11 on 05/01/2013