By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The Helena High School Huskies athletic teams are set to compete in a larger class at the start of the 2016-17 school year, and because of the latest reclassification, the Huskies must meet the AHSAA requirements to compete in Class 6A.

On Jan. 20 the AHSAA Central Board of Control unanimously approved the 2016-18 reclassification at its winter central board meeting.

Reclassification defined by the AHSAA handbook “Is based on Average Daily Membership (ADM) figures furnished by the State Department of Education for the upper three grades plus all retained ninth grade students.”

Helena was one of the three Shelby County Schools to change classifications and on Monday, March 14 the Helena City Council approved a mayor’s request to allot funding for the HHS expansion improvement project to meet AHSAA requirements.

The first goal of the HHS expansion improvement project is to construct approximately 600 additional seats on the visitors side of Husky Stadium before the start of football season.

“We hope to expand the visitors side and again that’s part of the project where when we built it we saved money and it was part of the cost saving initiatives to not build it out like it needs to be and now it’s time to do it,” said Helena Mayor Mark Hall. “We’re asking to do that and improvements to the baseball field are what we’re asking for tonight. Coach (Watt) Parker is here and he understands what we’ve got to do so we hope to get that going so we can have it done before football season.”

The council agreed to allot $116,000 for the projects from the one-cent tax fund that will also include additional concrete installation and improvements around the baseball stadium, in addition to the football stadium expansion.

Helena’s enrollment has increased dramatically in the last two years, increasing from an ADM of 562 at the last reclassification to 838.75. This moved the Huskies from the fifth-largest 5A school in the state to the 22^nd-largest 6A school out of 59 6A schools.