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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 11, 2005 AHS to talk reclassification School will host open-mic town hall meeting to discuss options By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Kemper Sports fans who want Ashland High to remain in the same classification as the rest of the Southern Oregon Conference giants — North Medford, South Medford, Roseburg and Grants Pass — will have one last chance to explain why in an unprecedented town hall meeting Wednesday night. The open microphone discussion is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the school’s commons area. Ashland High athletic director Karl Kemper and principal Jeff Schlecht will be on hand to both speak and listen. Kemper and Schlecht will review the reclassification plan at the start of the meeting, ask coaches to speak, then, as Kemper puts it, “it’s going to be the Phil Donahue show.” “We have a wireless mic so people don’t feel like they have to come up and give a big speech at the podium in front of people,” Kemper said. “People will get a chance to speak and be heard, and we’ll consider things that are said and just have a healthy discussion about the issue.” The Oregon School Activities Association will vote on Oct. 24 whether or not to restructure its current four-class system into six classes. Under the current proposal, Ashland would go from being a Class 4A school, currently the highest division in the state, to being a Class 5A school, the second-highest level. While the deadline to petition to move up a class under the new proposal has technically passed, Ashland High may still make that request. Schools are classified based on average daily membership. Currently, Ashland’s ADM (1,084 students) ranks No. 7 in the eight-school Southern Oregon Conference. Under the new proposal, Ashland would be in the middle of the pack in a five-school conference that would also include Crater (1,429), Eagle Point (1,143), Klamath Union (939) and Mazama (906). If Ashland requests to play up and that request is granted, it will continue to compete against the biggest schools in the current SOC, as well as South Eugene and Sheldon. The SOC’s largest school, Roseburg, has an ADM of 1,979, making it the fifth largest school in the state. “What some parents have said to me is that, ‘Maybe there are some things that you haven’t considered, some angles you haven’t looked at, some things you haven’t thought of,’ so that’s what we’re looking at,” Kemper said. “Is there some angle or twist or different way of looking at things that would influence us to go one way or the other.” Sports editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 3020 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams