The membership of the state’s governing body for high school sports narrowly voted Monday morning to separate public and non-public schools for the sport of football only — a groundbreaking and controversial decision that could forever change the face of New Jersey high school sports.

The vote passed by a majority count of 215-128 with two abstentions.

Starting in 2016 and pending approval by the state’s education commissioner, New Jersey’s non-public schools that play football will be separated into their own statewide conference. The new conference will determine its bylaws, constitution, schedules, divisions and structure.

MORE: 10 things to know about historic NJSIAA vote

Non-public and public schools can still play each other during the regular season, but only if both teams agree to the matchup. The current playoff structure will remain largely the same.

Although the vote passed, some schools expressed frustration over the decision.

"I will recommend to our principal that we take our issue right to the end (the commissioner of education)," Donovan Catholic athletic director Joe Gmulka said. "I think this is only the beginning of the battle. ... I would expect there to be some kind of litigation from our end."

Some non-public officials said they will wait to see what determination is made by the education commissioner.

Red Bank Catholic athletic director Joe Montano, for one, was defiant over Monday's decision.

"I might go to the Shore Conference and ask for a resolution stating they wanted Red Bank Catholic in their league," Montano said. "Then I’ll send that to the NJSIAA and tell them we’re not going anyplace. Let’s see what they’re going to do about it.

“When has the NJSIAA ever told a member school you can’t play in this conference or in this sport in that league?" Montano continued. "Now the NJSIAA is saying you can’t play Jackson in football? The NJSIAA has always always allowed the conferences to do their own thing."

Other coaches and administrators said the time has come for separation and they were hopeful a split will benefit New Jersey football.

"I think it’s a plus for parochial school football," Seton Hall Prep coach Vito Campanile said. "It’s just going to make the competition even better on this side of the fence. The most competitive kids are going to want to play at the highest level of football. The record shows the parochial schools have been pretty good and to watch those games, it’s really a high level of football.”

Monday’s landmark decision is the result of years of trouble brewing between the state’s public and non-public schools. To date, some public schools have been forced to play non-public schools during the regular season, despite having drastically different pools from which they draw students. Public schools have defined, geographic boarders, while non-public schools can accept students from anywhere.

In recent years, several prominent non-public schools such as Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and Paramus Catholic have become national football powerhouses, and some public schools have said the playing field is not even and they only want to compete against like-minded opponents.

"It just wasn’t a level playing field," Ramapo coach Drew Gibbs said. "It’s one thing when one school can draw from a geographical area and the other school can draw from the tri-state area. It’s apples and oranges. I know that our kids and many of the kids that we play have the same commitment and dedication to football is the same as at parochial schools. That’s all comparable, but the talent level and the depth of talent just is not.”

Also, some public schools administrators have alleged for years non-public schools have an unfair advantage by being able to entice student athletes from all over to their programs.

Bergen Catholic coach Nunzio Campanile said if the state's non-public schools can work together, a statewide conference can work.

"It’s going to take a lot of collaboration," Nunzio Campanile said. "But if everyone is open-minded about it, everyone will recognize that as Catholic schools, we’re more alike than we are different so that gives us an opportunity to set schedules up in a manner for everyone to excel.”

Earlier this year, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association re-convened a special public/non-public committee to examine issues plaguing the state. The committee’s most significant recommendation was a proposal to split public and non-public schools for football.

The state had been largely divided on the issue. South Jersey schools had been against a split, saying their public and non-public schools coexist pleasantly. Meanwhile, North Jersey schools have argued change is necessary.

Now, change has come.

The NJSIAA bylaw change will move to the education commissioner for approval. A decision is expected in the coming weeks or months.

NJ Advance Media staff writers Joe Zedalis, Pat Lanni and Jeremy Schneider contributed to this report.

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.