Five metro area high schools have been placed in new conferences beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
Irondale, Spring Lake Park and Totino-Grace were placed in the Northwest Suburban Conference while Columbia Heights and Fridley were placed in the Tri-Metro. All five schools are current members of the North Suburban Conference, which is dissolving after the 2013-14 school year. The schools learned Monday of their placement.
The Minnesota State High School League placement committee used four criteria for its decision: geography, enrollment, programs offered and conference structure. Both the schools and the conferences with which they were placed can appeal.
Three other schools, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Holy Angels and St. Thomas Academy, are in their respective process to determine placement, MSHSL executive director Dave Stead said.
In other conference news, Park of Cottage Grove learned last week that its invitation to join a new conference in the east metro was rescinded. Park, currently in the Suburban East, hoped to join the new conference, which is primarily made up of schools from the dissolving Classic Suburban.
