EAST MILLINOCKET – The school board is expected to decide Tuesday night whether to change Schenck High School from Class C to Class D next year to compensate for declining enrollment.

Although larger schools generally field better teams than smaller schools, the change will not necessarily mean that the Wolverines will play less competitively or face teams that are easier to beat, athletic director Robert Marquis said Sunday. Nor should the school lose traditional rivals, he said.

“Other than a game or two, our schedules probably should not even change,” Marquis said Sunday.

If the board votes to make the change, which would take effect next school year, the class transfer would be the first since the mid-1980s, board Vice Chairman Gary Morin said. The meeting is at 6:45 p.m. at the Medway Middle School library.

That change, from Class B to Class C, was very controversial, drawing about 100 people to one meeting, Morin said. But so far, people seem to accept the idea of changing classes, he said.

“People wanted us to go back to B back then, but this time I’m not hearing a whole lot. I don’t have a good feel for it,” Morin said. “A lot of people have indicated to me they would let us go where we’re classified.”

The school board can opt to stay a Class C school, Morin said.

Marquis favors going to Class D, he said.

“Our kids work hard and they do well, but to me it’s a numbers system and that’s why they have it,” Marquis said. “When you are competing against schools that are twice as large as you are, they have a definite advantage.”

State high school athletic regulations require schools that fall below 230 students to consider changing from C to D, Marquis said.

Schenck has 216 students and is Class C in boys and girls basketball and soccer, plus baseball and softball, he said. Cross country and tennis share C and D classifications.

In Maine, schools are ranked from Class A to Class D, with the largest schools in Class A, Marquis said.

Schenck’s population drop follows a statewide trend. Many schools over the past five to 10 years have changed classes. Fort Kent and Orono high schools have gone from B to C, while Stearns High School in Millinocket has gone from A to C, Marquis said. John Bapst High School in Bangor is going from A to B. To his knowledge, only one high school has increased enrollment in the last several years.

Schenck might be allowed to stay in Class C in some sports but go to D in others, Marquis said.