IHS principal's punishment: No raises, no coaching

Several consequences, but no suspension for Immokalee High School Principal Manny Touron.

Under a letter of reprimand handed out Tuesday by Collier County Assistant Superintendent Eric Williams, Touron will have his contract as principal looked at every year, will not see a pay or cost of living increase for the 2006-07 school year and will never coach or be in a paid or volunteer position for any Collier County public schools athletic team recognized by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

The punishment was handed out because of Touron’s involvement in three over-age students’ participation in athletics at Immokalee High School.

“What happened in October was a serious mistake on (Touron’s part),” said Williams. “While it is not as serious as to warrant termination, it warrants reprimands like an annual contract, no pay increase and forwarding the consequences to the (Florida Department of Education).”

Touron received the letter of consequences Tuesday. Touron said Wednesday he had no other comment except to restate that he will abide by the recommendations in Williams’ letter.

“I am going to try to move forward,” he said. “It gets more difficult every day with what comes out. But I believe Dr. Williams and Mr. (Ray) Baker (superintendent) made recommendations on what they thought was right and I will abide by that.”

In his letter to Touron, Williams admonished the Immokalee principal for failing to remove 23-year-old Josh Jean-Mary from school in October.

“Regardless of your intent, this was a serious failure to fulfill your responsibilities,” he wrote. “I understand that the student about whom the deputy spoke with you in October 2005 did not participate in interscholastic sports during the 2005-06 school year. This aspect of the reprimand is not based on an assumption you knew the accurate age of the students at the time they were participating in interscholastic competition. It is based on your not sufficiently following up on the information from the deputy.”

Touron had received a verbal report from the school’s youth resource officer that Jean-Mary was 23 in October, but said a check of school records indicated Jean-Mary was younger.

“This was Jean-Mary’s senior year and he worked hard to get where he was. I have known Jean-Mary as he was a former soccer player of mine and couldn’t play this year due to age ineligibility according to his records on terms. I decided to keep him until the end of the year so he could graduate and become a productive citizen. Maybe this was a poor choice on my part,” he wrote in a May e-mail to Williams.

According to Williams’ letter, Touron informed him in a memo dated May 10 that he spoke with head soccer coach Frantz Matheus, who recalled going with Touron to the guidance office and checking Jean-Mary’s birth certificate, which said he was 20. Because the student was under the district’s criteria for remaining in school, Touron decided not to pursue the issue, according to Williams’ letter.

But, when the school youth resource officer informed Touron verbally and via police reports that showed there were a 23-year-old and a 30-year-old student attending Immokalee High School, Touron withdrew the students.

Jean-Mary and 30-year-old Blandel Jean were removed from school in May for being too old to attend school under the Collier County School Board’s policy.

Because of the violations, Williams has recommended:

-- That the letter be considered an official reprimand to be placed in Touron’s personnel file.

-- That Touron be placed on an annual contract, rather than a multiyear contract. Collier County school principals are typically placed on two-year contracts with the district, Williams said.

-- That Touron not receive any merit or cost-of-living increase for the 2006-07 school year. Touron earned $107,253 during the 2005-06 school year, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

-- That a copy of the letter of reprimand be sent to the Professional Practices Services section of the Florida Department of Education for violation of the Principles of Professional Conduct and the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession.

-- That Touron’s 2005-06 performance appraisal will reflect the concerns Williams expressed in the letter.

-- That, as long as Touron is an administrator with the Collier County School District, he not be allowed to serve as coach, assistant coach or in any paid or volunteer position for a Collier County public schools team playing a sport recognized by the FHSAA.

Williams ordered Touron to review whether any Immokalee High School staff members should be subject to disciplinary action or if their annual assessments should reflect the violations of the FHSAA bylaws. He also asked that Touron adhere to board policies that deal with a student’s eligibility to attend school in Collier County and participate in interscholastic events, as well as the Guidelines for Registration and Enrollment of Students and other School Board policies and administrative procedures. Touron must also adhere to the responsibilities of the principal in enforcing the rules and regulations of the FHSAA as set forth in FHSAA Bylaw 7.1, which requires the principal to comply with and enforce the FHSAA’s rules and regulations.

Touron must submit a plan by Aug. 11, detailing the steps he will take to ensure Immokalee High School will comply with FHSAA Bylaw 11.6, which states that students “must be less than 19 years 9 months old to participate in high school; 16 years 9 months old to participate in junior high school; and 15 years 9 months old to participate in middle school. On the day you reach one of these ages — regardless of when that day is — you become ineligible to participate on that level.”

Williams said the district will ask Touron to follow the county policy on registration, even though that was not expressed in the letter of reprimand.

“The focus was on athletics because that is what the principal is responsible for,” he said. “Mr. Touron will obviously have to follow the registration policy county has in place, which we are working on.”

Last week, the FHSAA imposed sanctions on Immokalee High School for three over-age students who played sports at the school since 2003. The sanctions include paying a $3,000 fine — $1,000 for each of the original students discovered — and the cost of the FHSAA’s investigation. The Immokalee soccer team received a two-year probation and cannot participate in the postseason during that time. The soccer team also has to forfeit its two district championships from the past two seasons.

The football team received one year of probation and must relinquish its 2005 District Championship. The school must also forfeit two district soccer titles and one district football title.

Jean, Jean-Mary and Senil Ulysse, 20, were the original three over-age athletes uncovered. Documents obtained by the Daily News last week indicated two more athletes, 21-year-old Clotaire Joseph and 20-year-old Fredo Selbonne, were over-age, which could lead to more sanctions against the school.

Touron has said the school will not appeal the sanctions the FHSAA imposed.

If Touron fails to meet the expectations, he could face additional disciplinary action, up to and including termination, according to the reprimand. He also could face sanctions from the state.