For starters reddog, the state did NOTHING to balance district head count variances of which the significant majority of the straw survey conducted desires a balanced district. Using Trackwrestling team views for 3 & 4 subs plus the high school entries for those districts (less a couple scratch) and the 1 & 2 district tournaments:

2016 D1 745 2016 D2 719 2016 D3 780 2016 D4 720
New Count 732 New Count 734 New Count 779 New Count 719

Greatest variance between districts = 60 for no change. NOTHING CHANGED for balance. What got accomplished was Reno, Kingman and Harper county took themselves out of the drives into D4 (a/k/a Garden 3h and Goodland 4h) and your couple of counties that are further to the east than Reno got thrown to the travel wolves. That bunch threw you under the bus but you already know such. To do a proper balance needed in reducing D3 head count and getting a lower variance between districts:

D1 leave as newly drawn 732
D2 Add McPherson +69, less Reno-Kingman-Harper -56, = 747
D3 Add Cloud, Ottawa +34, less McPherson -69, = 744
D4 Add Reno-Kingman-Harper +56, less Cloud, Ottawa -34 = 741

Greatest variance between districts = 15 AND D1 has room to grow!

Sorry about your predicament reddog. I would prefer an extra couple hours to Garden City than driving the 40 minute round trip to Belleville couple times a week for practice to skirt the district boundaries that have been drawn. Quite simply put, you got thrown under the bus by you know who.....after long drives to GC and Goodland this past season. Like Sekavec said, "welcome to district 4". sick Other than a regime change, which isn't likely, your next best effort might be getting a capable venue there or Beloit winning district hosting bids to avoid the drives into the D4 wild west. I hope not for us in the far SW corner don't want 4.5-5 hour drives either as the three hour standards are plenty enough. Looks like the odds are stacking up that D3 and D4 get pushed away from having subs in the future so, IF that happens, then it will only be one trip into the wild west for you. Issue will return to only a few select venues capable of hosting a D4 of over 700 kids IF the board also balances the districts. About five facilities are of adequate seating capacity and only one is reasonably centralized but ONLY IF Gross Memorial doesn't have a scheduling conflict (let alone expensive). Are you Cloud county people ready for a five hour drive to Liberal or four to Garden City? cool Pratt will be a short drive for you when they host. Which I'm sure the Reno folks wouldn't have minded that kind of drive........just not clear to Goodland for an overcrowded venue. blush

Welcome to District 4 but how does Reno keeps themselves out of D4 with any attempt to balance the numbers? Saline county thrown under the bus next? That would be an interesting dog fight to watch!