On April 15, 2015, the Santa Paula Unified School Board, by a vote of 3-2, rejected a proposal that would allow students who live in Santa Paula and who attend St. Augustine Academy to participate in Santa Paula High School (SPHS) athletic programs.  (Diana Ponce-Gomez, Chris Wilson, and Christina Urias voted against the proposal; Michelle Kolbeck and Kelsey Stewart voted in favor of it.)

That proposal sought to take advantage of a new rule passed by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) that permits students to participate in CIF-member schools when they attend a school that has no CIF athletics and so long as such students meet other CIF eligibility requirements and comply with the school’s grading requirements.  See Rule 303 of the CIF Rule Book, “Multi-School CIF Membership (page 109-11).  The Rule requires approval from each school’s governing school board.

The undersigned individuals, all residents of Santa Paula, request the Santa Paula Unified School Board to reconsider its decision and that it allow St. Augustine students the opportunity to participate in SPHS athletics. The High School will benefit by the inclusion of these additional athletes. Moreover, the families of these students are taxpayers who pay for SPHS activities in general and who deserve the opportunity to benefit from their contributions.