RINCON — South Effingham is set to move into a larger neighborhood.

According to the reclassification count recently released by the Georgia High School Association, South Effingham has 1,725 students. One hundred and two of them live in another school zone, pushing the Mustangs out of Class AAAAA into Class AAAAAA with the Effingham County Rebels. 

A multiplier is added to out-of-zone students, making South Effingham’s reclassification number 1,827. Fifty-six of Effingham County’s 1,820 students live outside its zone, boosting its reclassification number to 1,876.

On the current list, South Effingham and Effingham County are the fourth- and fifth-smallest Class AAAAAA schools. Wheeler is the biggest with a reclassification count of 2,654, including 475 out-of-zone students.

Barring any last-minute shuffling because of appeals, Class AAAAAA will have 56 schools, including current members Glynn Academy, (1,900 and 157), Bradwell Institute (1,632 and 386) and Brunswick (1,790 and 18). 

Current Class AAAAAA member Richmond Hill (2,341 and 0) is reported to be considering an appeal to avoid a move to Class AAAAAAA due to its isolation from similar-sized schools. 

Effingham County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford, Effingham County Athletic Director Matt Huntley and South Effingham Athletic Director Jeff Faith recently met with representatives of nearby schools to discuss region possibilities.

“We’re not opposed to the three schools in Columbia County (Grovetown, Evans and Lakeside) joining us,” Ford said. “We have a healthy relationship with those guys and they have to go somewhere. They will have to go to the Houston County area, according to the map, or come down to us.”