GREENVILLE - The realignment committee of the N.C. High School Athletic Association heard about 20 schools' presentations related to realignment at the Murphy Center at East Carolina last week, but none offered a solution that would please all of the NCHSAA 4A members in eastern North Carolina.

The NCHSAA presented two drafts for the next alignment and schools were invited to give their suggestions and reactions during the session. The NCHSAA realigns member schools into conferences every four years based on school openings, closings and fluctuating enrollments. The realignment committee did not give any feedback during the session.

The biggest puzzle among 4A schools in the East this year is what to do with five members of the PAC 6 4A which still are in the 4A classification. East Chapel Hill and Southern Durham will be 3A schools in the next alignment, leaving Northern Durham, Durham Hillside, Durham Jordan, Durham Riverside and Roxboro Person.

A five-team conference is not desirable and finding other 4A schools to join them presents problems.

Panther Creek and Green Hope are grouped with the five PAC 6 schools in the NCHSAA's drafts, but Panther Creek and Green Hope asked the realignment committee to remain with the Tri-Nine 4A.

Todd Schuler, the Panther Creek athletics director, said it would create a financial hardship for the schools to leave the rivalries they have in their current league. He noted there are four high schools in Cary - the others are Middle Creek and Cary - and that pulling Green Hope and Panther Creek not only would affect gate receipts and corporate sponsorships, but also increase travel.

Bobby Guthrie, the senior administrator for athletics for Wake County Schools, asked that Green Hope and Panther Creek be allowed to stay as well. He also noted that during the next alignment period Wake County will have 21 4A schools.

"We're asking that they be split among three conferences," Guthrie said.

Bob Hill, the athletics director at Durham Hillside, represented the PAC 6 4A schools. He noted a five-team conference would create major difficulties.

In 2011, for example, Hillside played only 10 football games because it could not find opponents. One of the 10 was against a team from South Carolina.

"We have good facilities and we have good competitive teams," he said. "We've had sellouts in basketball and football. I think we could develop new rivalries."

Broughton asked to remain in a league with the current Cap Eight 4A teams instead of moving to the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference. Jack Spain, the Caps' athletics director, suggested Rolesville, a new school opening in 2013 in Rolesville, be placed in the Greater Neuse 4A and that Broughton remain with its traditional rivals.

The committee will meet Feb. 15 and prepare an alignment plan. Schools' representatives may appeal to the committee in person March 15.