CCS hearing panel letters to highschools

To Live Oak High School: Dear Principal Knapp, In reviewing a
letter published in the Morgan Hill Times by Live Oak High School
football staff, a letter following that from your football coach
was brought to our attention.
To Live Oak High School:

Dear Principal Knapp,

In reviewing a letter published in the Morgan Hill Times by Live Oak High School football staff, a letter following that from your football coach was brought to our attention. After reviewing both letters and taking formal action with Live Oak High School, we believe that in addition a letter of reprimand is in order for Sobrato High School as well.

We realize that the letter from your coach was written in response to the letter initiated by Live Oak High School, and we also contend that the content of the letter of your coach cannot as clearly be determined to be in direct violation of the CIF rule regarding Undue Influence. As a reflection of these two factors, we make the following conclusions:

1. The statement inviting eighth graders to participate in spring football and giving information about your summer program prior to eighth grade graduation is inappropriate. Eighth graders may not participate in spring football per CIF Bylaw 200A. In addition, no information about summer programs or fall start-up dates or requirements may be provided to eighth graders after their eighth grade graduation.

2. We find the use of this public forum of the local newspaper, unprofessional and inappropriate for the use of informing your parents about your program. The practice of staff members writing letters to the editor about Sobrato’s sports program is inappropriate and should be discontinued immediately.

3. Sobrato should develop a policy wherein any letters submitted to any newspaper by a staff member are reviewed by school administration and approved as to content prior to being submitted in representation of the school. Please submit a copy of this policy to the CCS Commissioner who will forward it to our Hearing Panel for review. The deadline for submission is May 11.

4. Please submit a written statement from yourself to the CCS Commissioner that your coach has been informed that you will abide by CIF Bylaw 200A and will not allow eighth graders to participate in spring football nor will any information about your athletic program be sent or distributed to eighth graders until after their eighth grade graduation.

We hope that the situation as it presently exists between Live Oak and Sobrato football programs discontinues and that the schools develop a positive, cooperative working relationship, which all the student-athletes in Morgan Hill will benefit from. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and assistance regarding this important issue and look forward to receiving the two written documents outlined above.

For the Hearing Panel,

Sherry Segalas,

Principal of Terra Nova Highschool,

Hearing Panel Chairperson

To Sobrato High School:

Dear Principal Boden,

Thank you for taking time to meet with us the morning of March 24. We believe that an honest dialogue was held on both sides of this challenging issue regarding the recent letter to the editor penned by the Live Oak Football Coach. After listening to the response to our questions and the statements made by those from Live Oak in attendance this morning, we find the following to be facts:

1. A letter to the editor of the Morgan Hill Times, written by the Live Oak Varsity Football Coach, appeared in the March 5-7 edition.

2. The contents of the letter are on record, so we won’t reiterate all the points made in the letter.

3. Coach Webb has been the varsity football coach at Live Oak High School for the past five years and has coached in the football program for over a decade.

4. The district has a school choice policy that allows for request for transfer between Live Oak and Sobrato. The deadline for that choice policy is Jan. 31.

5. Morgan Hill Unified School District opened a new high school, Ann Sobrato High School, in the fall of 2004. This school opened with freshmen and sophomores only. The fall of 2005 Sobrato will add one class, having then a freshmen, sophomore and junior class. Sobrato played a freshmen football schedule for the 2005 season.

6. Sobrato requested to be removed from the TCAL in the sport of football for the 2005 season and was granted that request by the board of managers of the TCAL.

7. Live Oak remains in the TCAL in all sports, including football for the 2005-2006 school year. Both Live Oak and Sobrato have been re-conferenced and re-leagued into the BVAL beginning in the 2006-2007 school year.

Based on these facts the following are our conclusions:

1. We considered most of the comments in the letter in the context of the entire letter, but there were also comments that stood alone that also were considered on their own merits. There are several points of concern in the published letter to the editor.

a. An invitation is extended to eighth graders to attend spring football practice at Live Oak. This is a direct violation of CIF Bylaw 200 A and is also considered a violation of CIF Bylaw 510 as this can be used as an inducement.

b. There are several references about Sobrato High School that portray that school’s football program, in Coach Webb’s own words, as a program that cheats, is irresponsible, deceitful in stating the facts, manipulates, stacks the deck, doesn’t teach sportsmanship, etc. Not only is it highly inappropriate for a staff member to make such statements in a public forum about their colleagues within the district, it clearly implies that if you are a football player, Live Oak is the place to play and Sobrato is not. This is a deliberate and clear violation of the spirit and letter CIF Bylaw 510. There can be no other interpretation by the general public except that this will influence students and their families as to where they should attend school if they want to play football.

1. While this kind of language presented verbally or in writing at any time to any group of potential students or families would be a violation of 510, the use of this public forum is particularly disturbing and makes the violation even more blatant and deliberate. The use of this public forum shows a lack of respect for the potential students and families that will be attending either school as well as for the rules themselves. It also puts the participation of the very student-athletes whose parents have entrusted such participation in football to Live Oak High School in jeopardy. Coaches are required to be knowledgeable about the rules in order to run their program within that framework. Such serious lack of understanding and judgment by the head coach of a program is unacceptable and puts the students within such a program in jeopardy of suffering consequences that will affect their participation because of just this type of rule violation.

Therefore, we have determined the following:

1. We have determined this to be a Level Two infraction as outlined in the CCS Infractions Policy. We believe that #1, #2 and #6 raise it to a Level Two. Number one was not reported by the school. We know that the timeline under which the principal read the article was short, but the first phone call about the matter was from the CCS to the school, not vice-versa. Number two was discovered and acted upon by the CCS Commissioner and Sobrato also called to ask if Nancy had seen the article and if she thought it was inappropriate. We believe that the nature of #6 leads us to no other conclusion except that this was a deliberate attempt to influence kids in their thinking about Live Oak’s football program in contrast to the other school programs available to the students in that district.

2. Live Oak High School’s football program at all levels shall be on probation for the rest of this school year as well as all of the 2005-2006 school year for violation of CIF Bylaw 510. Should at any time during the probationary period there occur any type of rule violation, including but not limited to any sportsmanship incident or any other attempt by anyone associated with the Live Oak football program to unduly influence anyone to attend school there or any other TCAL, CCS, CIF or NFHS rule violations, additional may include but are not limited to, immediate removal from league championship contention, ineligibility for CCS playoffs, immediate suspension of the remainder of that season of sport, reduction of the maximum number of contests allowed for the following season in football, complete discontinuance of the football program at Live Oak High School for a period of time, etc. If and when an infraction occurs it will be reviewed and sanctions deemed appropriate to the violation will be applied.

3. Principal Boden shall write a letter of apology to the community on behalf of the school for the rule violation and the comments made by Coach Webb in the newspaper. We would expect this to be submitted to the newspaper. If having the letter published in the newspaper is unsuccessful, a written letter sent to all the families enrolled in the MHUSD would be sufficient. This letter shall be reviewed by the CCS Commissioner prior to being sent. The CCS and the TCAL Commissioner should be carbon copied on this letter.

4. Live Oak will develop a written procedure to review the content of any letters written by any member of the Live Oak athletic staff prior to being printed in the newspaper. This written procedure shall be forwarded to this committee for review no later than May 11. After review of such procedures, the committee will respond with any suggestions or a letter of support for the content procedures developed. (Please send this to the CCS and it will be forwarded to our Hearing Panel.)

5. The principal and athletic director are required to attend the CCS 2005 Administrator’s Workshop.

6. Live Oak shall schedule a review of recruiting expectations and bylaws for all the members of their football coaching staff and any other athletic staff members they think appropriate with the CCS Commissioner for a minimum of one hour.

These determinations may be appealed to the CCS Executive Committee. If Live Oak High School wishes to appeal they should notify the CCS Commissioner in writing, who will then forward the appeal to the CCS Executive Committee, who will hear that appeal at their next regularly scheduled meeting.

Thank you for your commitment to ensure that Live Oak football is not put in the position of being sanctioned for such a rule violation in the future. We look forward to a great season of football at Live Oak operating within all the rules and regulations of the CIF, CCS, TCAL and NFHS in the upcoming year.

For the Hearing Panel,

Sherry Segalas,

Principal of Terra Nova Highschool,

Hearing Panel Chairperson