York Prep wins realignment appeal, will continue to compete in 2A classification

The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) executive committee unanimously approved York Prep’s appeal to stay in 2A instead of 4A for the next realignment cycle on Wednesday.

York Prep has competed in Class 2A after fully joining the SCHSL back in 2020.

However, in November, the SCHSL voted to implement a multiplier on every student living outside a school’s local attendance zone for the next realignment period (2024-26). Using the multiplier, every out-of-area student was counted as three students.

York Prep currently has 387 students in grades 9-11, a number that on its face places the school right on the boundary between Class 1A and Class 2A in terms of raw enrollment. The SCHSL does not factor in senior class enrollment for classification purposes.

But with more than 300 of those students outside York Prep’s local attendance zone, which it shares with South Pointe High School, York Prep’s total enrollment number blew up to 991, placing the school in the lower rungs of Class 4A.

York Prep was the lone school in the tri-county area to appeal its realignment positioning, as the SCHSL executive committee has been hearing appeals this week from schools looking to move back down.

The approval means that York Prep will stay at Class 2A and likely remain in Region 5 as a non-football member.