Top McKinney Sports Stories 2012 - (No. 7) Denied: UIL rejects McKinney, Boyd's realignment appeal

(Editor's Note: In February, McKinney and McKinney Boyd lost their appeal regarding district realignment, keeping them, enrollment-wise, as the two smallest schools by far in District 10-5A. The original article appeared on Feb. 22.)

The UIL appeals committee ruled on Monday that McKinney and McKinney Boyd will remain in District 10-5A for the 2012-2014 realignment, where they will compete against four schools with enrollment numbers more than double their own.

That size disparity was at the center of the appeal made by the McKinney schools. McKinney and Boyd have 2,121 and 2,900 students, respectively, while future district competitors Plano East, Allen, Plano Senior and Plano West have enrollments of 6,016, 5,388, 5,315 and 4,945, giving them a much larger pool of athletes to choose from.

"Unfortunately, our appeal was denied, but we will continue dialogue with the UIL about the fairness of placing a school on the cusp of being 4A [like McKinney] with the four largest high schools in the State of Texas," said Cody Cunningham, McKinney ISD Chief Communications Officer. "We recognize there is value in raising the level of competition. However, there is a point at which the sheer number of students in a given program makes fair competition unreasonable. I think one could make a strong argument that 3,000 to 4,000 additional students in one school versus another certainly falls into this category."

McKinney and Boyd sought to move to District 11-5A alongside schools from Garland ISD, a setup the Broncos have enjoyed the past two years to widespread athletic success. But they were unable to secure unanimous consent from the future members of 10-5A or 11-5A, the first level of appeal, and therefore had to take their case before the UIL, who rejected the request along with those presented by all but one of the 12 schools it heard from Monday.

Several factors worked against the appeal. A major focus of the 2012-2014 realignment was placing schools in more compact geographical regions, and positioning McKinney and Boyd in a district along with other schools located along the U.S. 75 corridor conforms to that standard.

Additionally, having a size disparity in 10-5A would be inevitable given that Allen and the Plano schools are the largest in the state.

Boyd was also already in a district along with Allen, Plano, East and West during its first two years as a 5A program -- a situation the UIL's ruling ensured McKinney will now face.

"We appealed the decision, but the UIL has made its decision and we will now move forward," Cunningham said. "Our message to students will be not to dwell on the issue, but rather, to prepare for the competition and demonstrate character and integrity just as they have in the past."

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