Life as a Class 4A school turned out to be a one-year deal for Western Dubuque.

Boone replaced Western Dubuque as the state’s 48th-largest school, according to the BEDS Documents, and will take the Bobcats’ place as the small fish in the big-school pond in 2011-12.

The BEDS Documents are the barometer for the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s classification of schools via enrollment. The number of students in grades 9-11 for 2010-11 will determine classification for 2011-12. Football is an exception; classification is done in football on a two-year basis, and the deck will be reshuffled again for the 2012 season.

In most major sports (boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball and softball, and volleyball), the top 48 schools are 4A, Nos. 49-112 are 3A, Nos. 113-240 are 2A and the rest are 1A.

In other notes concerning enrollment:

* Iowa City West has replaced Cedar Rapids Kennedy as the most populated high school in the Mississippi Valley Conference. West has a three-grade enrollment of 1,426; Kennedy is at 1,320.

* All three of the Cedar Rapids public schools’ figures are lower, though Washington lost only one student.

* Mount Vernon’s seemingly up-and-down movement continues. Mount Vernon will back down in 2A next year.

* In terms of percentage growth, Solon is the area’s biggest winner at 14.9 percent.

* A number of county-seat schools, such as Independence, Vinton-Shellsburg, Waukon and West Delaware, suffered sharp declines. So did North Fayette, HLV and Olin.

* Cedar Valley Christian’s debut as a sanctioned school has it with an enrollment of 58.

Here are figures for all area schools: