Judge: Fiorina not eligible to play

Santa Fe High golfer won't participate in Class AAAAA state tourney

Lee Yobbi | The New Mexican

5/8/2008 - 5/9/08

First District Court Judge Michael Vigil ruled on Thursday against granting a permanent injunction against Santa Fe High School concerning its determination that sophomore golfer Chanet Fiorina is academically ineligible.

Judge Vigil said Santa Fe High was correct in its evaluation of Fiorina's grades and that she did not meet the minimum 2.0 grade point average requirement on a 4.0 scale, which is required by the New Mexico Department of Education and the New Mexico Activities Association, the state's governing body for prep athletics.

Fiorina, who was a favorite to win Monday's Class AAAAA Girls State Championship and the only Demonettes golfer who qualified to play in the two-day tournament, will not be allowed to participate. She also will have to forfeit the District 2AAAAA title she won on Tuesday because her ineligibility is retroactive to March 31, the NMAA cut-off date to determine playing status. Fiorina was allowed to play in the district championship and two other tournaments after District Judge Daniel Sanchez granted a temporary restraining order against the school on April 28.

"I have to enforce the rules," Vigil said in his ruling. "And the rules here are clear; she didn't have a 2.0 on March 31."

Judge Vigil also said that Santa Fe High complied with its obligations to Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in regards to Fiorina's diagnosis with attention deficit disorder and a form of dyslexia.

Fiorina's mother, Caryn Fiorina, who was representing Chanet Fiorina, claimed in a petition that Chanet Fiorina was not given proper credit for up to 11 assignments and one corrected test in a chemistry class at the school, which would have raised Chanet Fiorina's GPA. above 2.0.

Caryn Fiorina also said in a petition to the court and a complaint with the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education, that the school did not implement Chanet Fiorina's 504 plan properly, a violation of her civil rights.

"I'm just like really disappointed," said Chanet Fiorina. "I thought I was trying to take care of school. But just like a lot of things were happening, school, golf, home, and like stuff with friends."

Chanet Fiorina's father is former Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina, who was not present in the courtroom, but did appear after the hearing. Chanet Fiorina was not present. That caused problems for the plaintiffs because the defense asked questions specific to the classroom and the 504 accommodation plan, which only Chanet Fiorina could answer.

Tom Fiorina was the parent who signed the 504 evaluation and the parents' rights agreement with SFHS near the end of the 2007 school year. Caryn Fiorina was not present at that meeting, and claimed not to have been aware of the document as she was questioned on the witness stand.

An accommodation plan with Chanet Fiorina's name on it also was admitted as evidence. There also was a contact number for the student wellness coordinator and the 504 director on the document. Caryn Fiorina said she went through a variety of channels when Chanet Fiorina's grade came into question in mid-January, but said she didn't know until very late about the listed wellness coordinator.

Caryn Fiorina filed a petition for divorce on Feb. 11 and a domestic violence petition on Feb. 15, according to a Feb. 28 article in The New Mexican. Caryn currently has custody of Chanet Fiorina.

Tom Fiorina said after the hearing that he couldn't comment on specifics, but there are some things that Caryn Fiorina might not have been aware of.

"I would have to know something more specific," he said.

That's not where the breakdown ends. It was proven that officials at Santa Fe High knew that Chanet Fiorina was ineligible as of March 26 or 27 — grades were final on March 19 — but she continued to play in three more tournaments from April 1-24. When asked on the stand if Santa Fe High knew Chanet Fiorina was not eligible on March 31, assistant principal Skip Hemperley answered: "Yes."

The school self-reported its violation to the NMAA.

"There was a breakdown ... ," said Judge Vigil. "You're going to declare her ineligible then let her continue to play? ... Santa Fe High needs to find out how that happened."

The NMAA will be stepping in to find that out as well.

"We'll do an investigation," said NMAA executive director Gary Tripp. "We'll take probably some action in the school."

Tripp did not say what sanctions the school might face because the investigation is not yet underway. Tripp did say while on the witness stand that as a general rule schools that report themselves will face about half the sanctions that they would if they were reported by an outside agency.

Judge Vigil said Chanet Fiorina deserves an apology and also said he did not blame Caryn Fiorina for filling the case. But, he said, the facts were that SFHS fulfilled its requirements.

Chanet Fiorina was given extra test time, test considerations, a preferred seating in the chemistry class in question. There was also the matter of a history class where the grade of an F was disputed and later changed to a D, but only after the March 31 deadline. At the time of the cut-off, Chanet Fiorina had a 1.66 GPA and two Fs, either of which would disqualify her from competition, according to the NMAA handbook.

Fiorina also missed 11 of the 45 school days in the third quarter, seven of which were unexcused absences.

"Any time you have a case like this, even if you agree with the outcome, it doesn't mean it's a happy one," said Tony Ortiz, attorney for Santa Fe Public Schools.

Contact Lee Yobbi at 986-3041 or lyobbi@sfnewmexican.com