Jacksonville, FL — It all started with an anonymous correspondence.
Following an audit by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), which turned up several violations, Providence School of Jacksonville has been reprimanded, placed on administrative probation, forced to forfeit certain volleyball, baseball, and basketball contests in the 2015-2016 season, and faces steep financial penalties.
But the Head of School of Providence, Don Barfield, has released a statement to families, disagreeing with the FHSAA findings.
It reads in part: "The school submitted documentation to FHSAA, which we believe, substantiates that we did follow the appropriate guidelines to keep our athletic programs in compliance with the FHSAA. However, due to the potential long drawn-out process of appeal, which could have included a financial strain on the school's budget, the decision was to self-report the violations and accept the penalty imposed by the FHSAA."
As for the violations themselves, FHSAA identified four in particular, two of which are listed as impermissible benefits.
FHSAA defines impermissible benefits as any arrangement, assistance, or benefit that is not offered or generally made available to all students and/or their families who apply to or attend a school, or that otherwise is prohibited by FHSAA rules.
According to FHSAA documents, Providence provided an impermissible benefit by allowing a student-athlete admission into the school despite the student not meeting the admission requirements.
Providence allegedly provided another impermissible benefit to a different student-athlete, by providing additional financial assistance from a designated internal account, when the financial assistance committee determined that the student should pay a select amount towards her own tuition.
Providence is also accused of allowing two ineligible student-athletes to participate in interscholastic athletic contests, one in 31 Boys' Varsity Basketball contests and the other in 11 Girls' JV Volleyball contests, during the 2015-2016 school year.
FHSAA documents show the last violation is allowing non-school teams to utilize its facilities without a fully executed usage agreement on file.
As a result of these violations, Providence is fined $117,500. However, we're told $105,750 is suspended until June 30, 2018, provided no other violations occur.