Decision Due This Week on Montclair Prep’s Appeal

Thomas Byrnes, commissioner of the California Interscholastic Federation, said Tuesday that he hopes to rule “by the end of the week, if not sooner” on Montclair Prep’s appeal regarding sanctions against the school that were upheld last month by the Southern Section.

In accordance with the state appeals procedure, Byrnes said he will review the case this week and make a unilateral decision. It could end a lengthy investigation into numerous athletics-related violations by the school, some dating to the 1985 football season.

At stake for Montclair Prep is a one-year ban for all sports in 1991-92, which was upheld last month by the Southern Section executive committee.

Byrnes said he will review material submitted by the school and the Southern Section and that his role will consist largely of determining whether the section acted in a “responsible manner” during the process. The most important test centers on whether the section acted in accordance with established bylaws, he said.

Dan Grigsby, an attorney for the school, said he has sent a letter to Byrnes detailing Montclair Prep’s concerns about the case.

Grigsby said that Jeff Davidson, an attorney representing a group of Montclair Prep parents, also sent a letter to Byrnes requesting that the school’s baseball and basketball teams not be punished for recruiting violations committed seven years ago by the football team.

In baseball, the Mounties are two-time defending section champions in the I-A Division. The boys’ basketball team is a legitimate contender for the Division V-AA title. Montclair Prep will be eligible for the playoffs in all sports in 1992-93. The playoff ban stems from an agreement reached last April between the Southern Section and the school. Montclair Prep admitted to committing an unspecified recruiting violation and accepted penalties that included a postseason ban in all sports in 1991-92.

The Southern Section reduced some of the penalties last fall when a key witness recanted much of his testimony against the school. The section allowed Montclair Prep to petition for reinstatement of playoff eligibility, but the executive committee on Jan. 27 ruled that the school was guilty on two of four charges addressed at the hearing.