COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Monarch High School administrators are not appealing the state’s finding, but are asking the $16,500 fine be reduced following revelations the high school allowed a transgender athlete to play on its girls volleyball team, contravening Florida law and athletics policies.
Local 10 News has also learned whatever the final fine is will have to come out of the school’s budget.
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On December 18, Monarch High School Interim Principal, Moira Sweeting-Miller, wrote the state asking “what are the next steps for the compliance workshop and would also like to find out if there is a possibility of reducing the fine.”
District officials announced the probe into Monarch High School in late November. The school is located at 5050 Wiles Road in Coconut Creek.
In addition to Principal James Cecil, the district announced it reassigned three other employees: Kenneth May, an assistant principal; Dione Hester, the school’s athletic director and Jessica Norton, an information management technician and mother of the student-athlete in question.
It also “paused” the services of Alex Burgess, a “temporary athletic coach.”
According to a letter the Florida High School Athletic Association sent to Monarch High School on Tuesday and obtained by Local 10 News later that day, the school violated a bylaw that states “biological males may not participate on a female team in any sport” and a state statute stating “athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex.”
In 2021, the Florida State Legislature passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which specifies athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex. Gov. Ron DeSantis later signed the bill into law.
The FHSAA ordered Monarch High School face a reprimand, pay a $16,500 fine, face probation through Nov. 20, 2024 and require staff to attend compliance seminars and workshops.