Sisters’ athletic programs will be among those changed under the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) reorganization and reclassification recently upheld by State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo.

While some schools fought the plan, Sisters High School decided early on to make the best of it.

“Sisters High School is going to take the high road and we’re going to make this work,” Athletic Director Mary Flande told The Nugget last fall. “It’s not a terrible thing.”

The changes take effect next fall for the 287 high schools that are members of the OSAA. The plan creates six statewide divisions, arranged by school size, compared with the current four. And it reorganizes the districts, or conferences, within each division to try to reduce overall travel for athletic competition.

Sisters has been a Class 3A school and a member of the Capital Conference, which also includes Cascade, Stayton, Sweet Home, North Marion and Molalla. Under the new system Sisters will be a Class 4A school (those with enrollments of 401 to 850) and it will be in a conference with Cottage Grove, Junction City, Marist, Elmira, La Pine and Pleasant Hill.

In effect, the Outlaws will be trading predominantly Marion County competitors for a group located primarily in Lane County, the notable exception being La Pine. There will be seven schools in the new conference instead of six.

Travel time was one big concern for some school districts, but Flande said last fall that she thought “our travel is not impacted a lot.”

Part of the goal of the plan was to create a parity in competitor schools’ size (and talent pool).