Brad McDuffie didn’t learn until after his Chapel Field boys’ basketball team was beaten by Section 5 champion Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans in the 2022-23 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D title game that they were a combined team, playing from two separate school districts.

On their own, both schools had higher BEDS Enrollment numbers than Chapel Field last year. Avoca’s number was 98 and Prattsburgh’s was 90. Chapel Field came in at 75.

Together, their combined enrollments equal Class C numbers, but according to the current formula, which takes 100 percent of the larger school and 30 percent of the smaller, left Avoca-Prattsburgh in Class D with an official BEDS number of 125, well within the Class D threshold.

The Titans are 62-2 since then, and McDuffie said he believed they have a competitive advantage because they can draw the best players from two schools.

Now, the state is looking into changing the program, and is discussing changing the percentage of merged teams to 100 percent for the larger school and 40 percent for the smaller in Class D.

The NYSPHSAA also is discussing a change in the merger of Class C programs to 100 percent of the larger school’s enrollment and 50 percent of the smaller school’s enrollment. This only applies to sports that have five or six classifications.

In the six-division classifications, Class AAA, Class AA, Class A and Class B use 100 percent of both schools’ enrollment, while in five-division classes, Class AA, Class A and Class B use 100 percent of both schools’ enrollment.

According to NYSPHSAA officials, the Combining of Teams Committee is trying to address concerns raised by the two lowest classifications about merged teams that only use a percentage of the smaller schools and then competing against single-school teams.

By increasing the percentage of the smaller schools, it may force some teams into a higher classification.

That would have put Avoca-Prattsburgh at 134, still within Class D. The Titans will remain in Class D this year, as both schools have seen enrollment numbers drop.

Chapel Field’s numbers for 2023-24 have also dropped by 7.

Should the Lions reach the same level in basketball this year, the Titans could be there again.

The committee also discussed schools that are merged in all sports must use 100 percent.

Section 5 has six full sports mergers, one of which is Avoca-Prattsburgh; all remain in Class D. Section 5 committeeman Jon Beardsley said one concern that’s brought up is “districts manipulating percentages.” All five programs would move to Class C if forced to move up at 100 percent.

There was no interest among the committee in going to 100 percent in schools that merge in all sports.

The move to push the graduated scale to 50 percent for Class C and 40 percent for Class D was approved 9-1-1. Section 11 (Suffolk County) voted against it, and Section 7’s representative wasn’t present at the June 12 committee meeting.

The committee will next meet in the Fall.