By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
MANVILLE — Bigger may not be better for Manville High School athletes, if the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (NJSIAA) realignment pits the school’s sports teams against more teams from larger schools.
But that’s just what might happen when a realignment of more than 200 high schools in northern and central New Jersey into six conference groups is completed by the NJSIAA. The realignment was approved by the organization in August.
According to District Superintendent Donald Burkhardt, the realignment could have MHS scrambling to find schools near its size, and could bar the school from competing against some of its traditional – and similarly sized — opponents.
”This was not voted on by the administration or the coaches,” Dr. Burkhardt said during the Oct. 14 Board of Education meeting. “This was done by the NJSIAA.”
Though he said the outcome is not completely clear, since the NJSIAA continues developing the specifications, the changes could pit Manville against larger schools.
”It’s not 100 percent clear yet; they’re still reviewing all the guidelines,” Dr. Burkhardt said.
Currently, Manville plays in the NJSIAA’s Central Group I bracket, for schools with 103-469 students. Other high schools in the bracket include Bound Brook, Dunellen, Highland Park, South Hunterdon, Bernards, Belvidere, North Warren and Highland Park.
Unlike changes made in the athletic conference about six years ago which changed which division of the conference Manville played in within the Skyland Conference, Dr. Burkhardt noted, these changes are coming from the NJSIAA.
”We could be forced to drop Dunellen, and pick up a larger school, such as David Brearly (in Kenilworth), or New Providence,” Dr. Burkhardt said. “We like to play schools that are closer to our size to be able to make it competitive for our students.”
According to the New Jersey Department of Education, New Providence High School had a student enrollment of 649 in 2006-2007, and David Brearly High School had a student enrollment of 694, while Manville’s enrollment is about 380.
The league setup would apply to all Manville sports, and is expected to occur in the 2009-2010 school year. The NJSIAA has not released the names of teams in each league, though Dr. Burkhardt expressed concern about dropping teams closer to Manville size, including St. Joseph’s of the Palisades and Dunellen.
”Since larger schools often have a bigger pool of athletes that can play during games, it could create problems for a smaller school with a smaller team,” Dr. Burkhardt said.
But Head Football Coach Brett Stibitz said he doesn’t expect the changes to affect his teams too much, noting he expects the conference lineups to be about the same, with the exception of adding The Pingry School.
”For us, it’s the same exact teams we’ve been playing, so it doesn’t really affect us at all,” he said.

