Official Minutes of the
Florida High School Athletic Association
and Florida High School Athletic Association's Land Corporation
Board of Directors
Sunday & Monday, April 6-7, 2008
Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building
Gainesville, Florida
Sunday, April 6, 2008 Interviews for Executive Director Position and Appeals
Board Members Present:
Charles Bethel, Representative-At-Large, Miami
Bob Cotter, Athletic Director, Clearwater Central Catholic High School
Roger Dearing, Superintendent, Manatee County Public Schools, Bradenton
Richard Finlayson, Principal, Aucilla Christian School, Monticello (President)
Tom Greer, School Board Member, Osceola County School Board, St. Cloud
Eric Hinson, School Board Member, Gadsden County School Board, Quincy
Dave Horner, Athletic Director, Forest High School, Ocala
Jeff Malloy, Athletic Director, Oak Hall School, Gainesville
Chris McKeon, Principal, Columbus High School, Miami
Ernie Modugno, Athletic Director, Naples High School
Marcos Moran, Representative-At-Large, Miami
Dalton Sheffield, Representative-At-Large, Crestview
Daniel Sims, Superintendent, Jackson County Public Schools, Marianna (President-Elect)
Pamela Stewart, Deputy Chancellor for K-12 Educator Quality, Florida DOE, Tallahassee
Keith Summers, Principal, Blountstown Middle School
Greg Zornes, Assistant Principal, Largo High School
Also in Attendance:
John A. Stewart, FHSAA Executive Director and Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer
Cristina M. Alvarez, FHSAA Director of Media Relations and Marketing, recording secretary
Dorothy W. Brunson, FHSAA Director of Eligibility
Tamara J. Forrester, FHSAA Director of Athletics
Samuel A. “Sonny” Hester, FHSAA Senior Associate Executive Director/Chief Administrative Officer
Gary V. Pigott, FHSAA Senior Director of Athletics
Laurel M. Ring, FHSAA Director of Special Programs
Jamie C. Rohrer, FHSAA Director of Athletics
M. Denarvise Thornton, FHSAA Associate Executive Director for Athletic Administration
Jack E. Watford, FHSAA Associate Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer
Shanell L. Young, FHSAA Director of Athletics
Leonard E. Ireland Jr., FHSAA General Counsel
1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 9:15 a.m. by the chair, President Finlayson, who also led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag. Members were present as noted above.
2. Welcome and announcements. Finlayson welcomed Board members to the meeting. Executive Director Stewart noted a few items before interviews of the finalists began:
A. The number of personnel attending the NFHS was reduced due to financial cutbacks.
B. Introduced Michael Colby as a new staff member. His main role will be handling eligibility.
C. Stewart introduced Holly Zwerling, who informed the board of some concerns, which included, but not limited to: the FHSAA helping with fund-raising ideas for schools, the Association marketing the Sportsmanship Summit through DVDs, making the Public Liaison Advisory Committee more visible, and the beginning of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The portion of the letter given to the Board is attached to these minutes.
3. Review of interview procedures. Finlayson and general counsel Ireland gave Board members an overview of the interview process and how the interviews will proceed. The interviews were done in alphabetical order:
a. Don Bridges – Director of Athletics, Polk County Public Schools – 9: 20 a.m.
b. Sonny Hester – Senior Associate Executive Director, FHSAA – 10 a.m.
c. Sam Ward – Principal, Fleming Island High School – 10:45 a.m.
The following 12 questions were asked in the same order to all three finalists:
1. Please describe your background in education and athletics. Include your personal experiences such as teaching, coaching, and administrative experiences.
2. Please describe what you consider to be the ideal role of the FHSAA Executive Director related to the following groups:
a. The Board of Directors
b. The FHSAA Staff
c. The member schools, both public and non public
d. The various school superintendents
e. The Florida Legislature
3. Please describe your experience in fiscal management, include your experiences with preparing and managing an annual budget of several million dollars.
4. Please describe your experience in personnel management, include the largest number of people you have supervised and the most challenging management opportunity you have encountered.
5. Please describe the manner in which you would continue the Association’s efforts to work with the Florida Legislature for the benefit of the member schools and student athletes.
6. As you know the membership of the Association varies from large urban public schools to small rural non-public schools. How would you propose to fairly and equitably serve all members with the long-range goal of keeping all members together under one Association?
7. Please describe your experience in developing and maintaining business partners or corporate sponsors.
8. Please describe your communication skills and experiences that will enable you to provide support to member schools and to foster relationships with other educational organizations, the State Department of Education and the state Legislature.
9. Please describe how you propose to work with staff as far as allowing them a voice, when appropriate, in the operation of the Association.
10. What will be your strategy for maintaining and ensuring the continuity of the current high level of services provided by the Association to its members?
11. Please tell the members of the Board why you would want to be the FHSAA Executive Director.
12. Are there any comments that you wish to make that you were not able to express in a response to earlier questions?
4. Selection of Executive Director. MOTION by Greer, SECOND by Sims to re-advertise the position. CARRIED.
5. Recess. 11:45 a.m. The Board reconvened at 1:30 p.m.
6. Appeals. The Board of Directors heard two appeals with the following results:
A. Lake Howell High School appealed the decision of the Section 2 Appeals Committee to deny the waiver of FHSAA Bylaw 11.1.1 for the benefit of student Elizabeth Haley. MOTION by Greer, SECOND by Dearing to uphold the decision of the Section 2 Appeals Committee. CARRIED.
B. Central Florida Christian Academy appealed the decision of the Section 2 Appeals Committee to deny the waiver of FHSAA Bylaw 11.4.12 for the benefit of student Leon Wright. MOTION by Dearing, SECOND by Greer to uphold the decision of the Section 2 Appeals Committee. CARRIED.
7. Adjournment. Executive Director Stewart informed the Board of a new corporate sponsor, Regions Bank. There being no further appeals to be considered by the Board the meeting was adjourned at 2:16 p.m.
Monday, April 7, 2008 Business Meeting
Board Members Present:
Charles Bethel, Representative-At-Large, Miami
Bob Cotter, Athletic Director, Clearwater Central Catholic High School
Roger Dearing, Superintendent, Manatee County Public Schools, Bradenton
Richard Finlayson, Principal, Aucilla Christian School, Monticello (President)
Tom Greer, School Board Member, Osceola County School Board, St. Cloud
Eric Hinson, School Board Member, Gadsden County School Board, Quincy
Dave Horner, Athletic Director, Forest High School, Ocala
Jeff Malloy, Athletic Director, Oak Hall School, Gainesville
Chris McKeon, Principal, Columbus High School, Miami
Ernie Modugno, Athletic Director, Naples High School
Dalton Sheffield, Representative-At-Large, Crestview
Daniel Sims, Superintendent, Jackson County Public Schools, Marianna (President-Elect)
Pamela Stewart, Deputy Chancellor for K-12 Educator Quality, Florida DOE, Tallahassee
Keith Summers, Principal, Blountstown Middle School
Greg Zornes, Assistant Principal, Largo High School
Board Members Absent:
Marcos Moran, Representative-At-Large, Miami
Also in Attendance:
John A. Stewart, FHSAA Executive Director and Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer
Cristina M. Alvarez, FHSAA Director of Media Relations and Marketing, recording secretary
Dorothy W. Brunson, FHSAA Director of Eligibility
Roberta L. Elkins, FHSAA Chief Financial Officer
Tamara J. Forrester, FHSAA Director of Athletics
Michael J. Herchel, FHSAA Network Administrator
Samuel A. “Sonny” Hester, FHSAA Senior Associate Executive Director/Chief Administrative Officer
Gary V. Pigott, FHSAA Senior Director of Athletics
Laurel M. Ring, FHSAA Director of Special Programs
Jamie C. Rohrer, FHSAA Director of Athletics
M. Denarvise Thornton, FHSAA Associate Executive Director for Athletic Administration
Jack E. Watford, FHSAA Associate Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer
Shanell L. Young, FHSAA Director of Athletics
Leonard E. Ireland Jr., FHSAA General Counsel
Staff members absent:
Paul K. McLaughlin, FHSAA Assistant Executive Director for Educational Services
1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. by the chair, President Finlayson, who also led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag. All members were present as noted above.
2. Welcome and Announcements. President Finlayson welcomed Board members and noted the absence of Board member Moran.
3. Adoption of Minutes of January 27-28, 2008 Meeting. MOTION by Greer, SECOND by McKeon to adopt the agenda for the meeting as printed. CARRIED.
4. Report of the President. President Finlayson began his report by reminding the Board to continue to consider decisions for the executive director position. Informed the Board that Board Members Malloy, Summers, and Zornes will attend the National Federation meeting in Washington, D.C. this summer. Finlayson said how Board Member Malloy and Senior Associate Executive Director Hester talked with legislators the previous week, and how important it is for the legislators to stay informed of the decisions made by the Board. He thanked Director of Special Programs Ring for the Hall of Fame Banquet the previous evening, and thanked the staff for their hard work at the state tournaments.
5. Report of the Executive Director. Executive Director Stewart began his report by thanking Ring for all her hard work to put together the Hall of Fame Banquet. Stewart emphasized how high school sports are an extension of the classroom. Thanked Board Member Stewart for her continued effort with cheerleading. He expressed concerns over House Bill 1481 which would allow an athlete who attends a private school to attend another school if their school does not have the sport.
6. Report of the Executive Director Selection Committee. MOTION by Greer, SECOND by McKeon to approve the addition of this section to the agenda and minutes. CARRIED.
A. Board Member Greer proposed the following information for the upcoming search for new applicants for the Executive Director position:
1. Advertising for the position begins on April 8.
2. The Board will pursue individuals from the coaches associations, superintendents association, and athletic director association.
3. The dates of the process are as follows:
May 9 – deadline for applicants
May 12 – applications overnighted to the Board of Directors
May 18 – the full Board or the Selection Committee will meet to decide on the finalists
May 19 – finalists are notified
May 19-20 – background check on the finalists
June 12 – interviews will take place
4. The Committee wants to do an aggressive statewide search
5. The Board discussed the salary and decided a set salary with better benefits will occur
6. The advertisement will be the same as previously advertised
MOTION by Greer, SECOND by Sims to accept the recommendations of the Executive Director Selection Committee. CARRIED.
7. Report of the Finance Committee. Finlayson recognized committee member Sheffield who presented the following report:
A. Chief Financial Officer Elkins presented the FHSAA financial statements for the period ending February 29, 2008. MOTION by Sheffield, SECOND by Zornes to approve the FHSAA financial statements as presented. CARRIED.
President Finlayson noted that the Board is sitting as the FHSAA Land Corporation Board of Directors for item B.
B. Elkins presented the Land Corporation financial statements for the period ending February 29, 2008. MOTION by Sheffield, SECOND by Malloy to approve the Land Corporation financial statements as presented. CARRIED.
President Finlayson noted that the Board is sitting as the FHSAA Board of Directors.
8. Report of the Governance Committee. Finlayson recognized committee chair Sims who presented the following report:
A. MOTION by Sims, SECOND by Summers to approve the 2008-09 Board of Directors meeting dates. CARRIED.
B. Associate Executive Director Watford presented a proposal on amending a proposed amendment to the “Policy on Compliance and Enforcement” to specify that the Infractions Appeals Committee will meet as needed upon call of the chair in Official Minutes consultation with the Executive Director rather than five times annually on dates set by the Board of Director. MOTION by Sims, SECOND by Sheffield to approve recommendation. CARRIED.
C. MOTION by Greer, SECOND by Sheffield to change the agenda to reflect Item C to be discussed after the Executive Director Selection Committee information. CARRIED. Executive Director Stewart withdraws the Item on the floor which was an action on a proposal to require all student-athletes to participate in the STAR Sportsmanship behavioral skills education program during the 2008-09 school year. WITHDREW.
D. Associate Executive Director Thornton presented a discussion on a proposal to reduce the number of meetings of the Officials Advisory Committee from 2 to 1 per year, and to allow one member of the Officials Advisory Committee to attend the respective sport advisory committee in an ex-officio capacity.
9. Report of the Operations Committee. Finlayson recognized committee chair Malloy who presented the following report:
A. Associate Executive Director Thornton presented an action on the proposed amendment to the “Policy on Unsportsmanlike Conduct” requiring all coaches who are ejected from contests to complete the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching online course within 15 days of the ejection. MOTION by Malloy, SECOND by Horner to approve the proposal. CARRIED.
B. Associate Executive Director Thornton presented an action on the proposed amendment to “Non-Faculty Coach Guidelines” requiring all non-faculty coaches to complete the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching online course. Board Member Malloy stated that during the committee meeting the previous day, it was decided to table the proposal.
C. Associate Executive Director Thornton proposed a discussion on a possible amendment to “Policy Governing Approval of Multi-School Athletic Events” that would eliminate limitations on the maximum number of teams participating in invitational tournaments and impose an additional $50 per team sanctioning fee for each school above the current limitations.
10. General counsel Ireland reported on lawsuits in which the Association is involved.
11. Comments and requests from members of the Board of Directors.
Several Board members offered their gratitude for the previous night’s banquet. Board Member Sheffield expressed his concern about possibly missing the June Board Meeting due to a prior commitment, but has enjoyed the five years serving on the Board. Board Member Summers said that the Board shares one common goal for the Association, and reflected on the letter from Ms. Zwerling, stating that he didn’t agree with two of her recommendations.
12. Schedule of upcoming meetings of the Board of Directors.
Stewart reminded Board members that the next meeting of the Board of Directors will take place at a time to be determined on Thursday, June 12 at the Sea Turtle Inn in Jacksonville Beach. Interviews for the position of Executive Director will be held on Thursday, June 12, with Appeals following..
17. Adjournment.
With no further business to come before the Board of Directors, the meeting was adjourned at 10:33 a.m.
Attest:
__________________________________________________ / _________________________
John A. Stewart, Ed.D, Executive Director Date
Approved:
__________________________________________________ / _________________________
Richard Finlayson, President Date
Portion of the letter from Holly Zwerling to the Board of Directors:
…that are presented by parents are immediate ones whose solutions may need a more timely response. Parents of seniors will have already graduated leaving issues unresolved.
The FHSAA in the distant past had not done enough to curtail recruitment due to conflict of interest issues with Board members representing schools that were suspected of multiple recruiting violations. No member school that is either on the Board or its sub committees should be treated any differently than any other school in being held responsible for recruitment violations. This will insure that the operation of the FHSAA will operate fairly and ethically.
Student representation is lacking on Boards where students can freely offer their insight and feedback. This is the second year that the FHSAA is trying to get the Student Advisory Committee off the ground. In the meantime the schools/students that expressed interest in membership last year were not personally thanked for taking time to contribute ideas to the Student Advisory Committee. This is poor marketing and disrespectful of the students who took their participation seriously. My concerns about this has not been addressed by the people in charge of this Committee. Letters should go out to the schools/students thanking them for their input because through no fault of their own the FHSAA did not get the Committee running this year.
The issue of Parent-Coach Relationships became an FHSAA issue when it was included in their 1st ever Sportsmanship Summit on Sept. 14,2007 and asked me to be the speaker. The issue of Coach-Parent Relationships was considered by the FHSAA when they wrote new guidelines regarding recruitment after hearing public testimony (parents included) during the Student Athlete Recruiting Task Force meetings which were presented to the Governor, the President of the Speaker of the House (December, 2006). Coach-parent relationship issues are taken up outside of local schools to understand the larger picture of general concerns. Parents for instance, out of fear of retaliation may not want to speak to those in charge at their school or are told they have the option to leave. In some cases athletic directors are also coaches presenting a limited number of people to speak to in order to problem solve issues. Unresolved issues may lead to unnecessary transfers or a
continuation of unsporting behavior. Parents issues sometimes are left in the closest. (Your
response to this issue was, "This is a school or county based issue. Each county has policies in place that they expect the coaching staff to follow. Protocol of talk to coach first, then Athletic Director, County Director, etc. ) is partly the reason...what is the purpose of your Committee??
I expect these issues which I outlined and approve as stated will be part of your minutes to the FHSAA Board and the Florida Legislature which I am still interested in receiving.
To review:
I. The FHSAA should help with fund-raising ideas to member schools.
2. Students who transfer from other countries mid year should not be allowed to actively play on a team until the following year.
3. The FHSAA should be publicly held responsible when inappropriate transfers or recruiting decisions are allowed.
4. The FHSAA should market their Sportsmanship Summit through DVD's, etc. that are professionally programmed and edited and distributed in a timely fashion.
5. The Public Liaison Advisory Committee should be made more visible (user friendly on the web site) and more effort made to welcome parents who have concerns and recommendations.
6. The Public Liaison Advisory Committee should share the pUblic's concerns to the Board, etc. in a timely fashion.
7. All schools should be treated equally regardless of affiliation on the FHSAA Board.
8. The Student Advisory Committee should be identified this year and become active. Those students who contributed ideas this past year should be formally thanked.
9. The issue of coach-parent relationships is part of the FHSAA agenda and it should produce basic guidelines for schools.
Thank you.
Holly Zwerling
P.S. I would like to be considered as a parent member of the Public Liaison Advisory Committee when that position becomes available and would like my interest to be noted and to be notified in a timely fashion of this opening.