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October 25, 2013 was “snapshot Friday,” the day schools reported enrollments in grades 9-12 for use in determining which classification (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A) their athletic teams, band, choir, one-act play and academic teams will compete in during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.
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For Kennedale, which reported 978 high school students on that day, it means that the high school should stay in the ?old? 3A group. {{more}}(It is important to note that UIL did make a change in naming each classification for next year. This year?s 3A classification is next year?s 4A classification. Kennedale will be 4A next year but it is just 3A renamed. This occurred when the UIL decided to do away with the 6-man classification for 2014-16, renaming it 1A and moving each of the other classifications up one level so that now the largest classification is 6A instead of 5A).
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Why is no change predicted for Kennedale? The enrollment cutoff number for 3A this past realignment was 1,004. That number has increased every realignment except one since 1998, when it leaped from 699 to 779. It grew to 844 in 2000, 899 in 2002, then remained the same in 2004. It has jumped to 949, 979, 989 and 1,004 in the last four realignments. One source, Carl Pidilla, a respected Texas football authority, has predicted the new cutoff will be as high as 1039 this next go around for the ?new? 4A.
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This would mean that Kennedale (978), Stephenville (996), Alvarado (982) and even Abilene Wylie who reported 1003 on October 25 should stay put.
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What worries Kennedale Athletic Director, Richard Barrett, is not the realignment but the redistricting that comes with it. Every two years there is the real possibly that Kennedale will face new district opponents. He said that Kennedale could go north up Argyle?s way, west towards Stephenville, south down Alvarado way and further or east toward Dallas. Or Kennedale could stay in the Fort Worth area.
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One thing is certain though, nothing is certain when it comes to the UIL’s biennial realignment. That news will have to wait until January when UIL unveils the complete realignment and re-districting plan.
