A report that is currently being written by a Seattle attorney about whether the Federal Way High School boys basketball team used an academically ineligible player during the run to the 2009 Class 4A state championship should be finished “in the next couple of weeks,” according to district officials.
“We are still waiting for the report from the independent reviewer,” said Deb Stenberg, a spokeswoman for the Federal Way School District.
The independent reviewer is Jeff Ganson, a lawyer from the Seattle firm Dionne & Rorick. Ganson was retained by the school district to look into the situation. His findings will be made public, according to Diane Turner, chief communications officer for the district.
Because the report is still being produced, Miguel Perez did not present details of the case to the other athletic directors from around the South Puget Sound League at Thursday’s monthly meeting, as previously planned.
Perez, Federal Way High School’s athletic director, requested to make a presentation at the group’s next meeting on Nov. 19.
The investigation was necessitated after current senior J.T. Koontz transferred from Federal Way to Decatur High School during the summer, and Gator head coach Kevin Olson reviewed his transcripts. Olson found that he failed to meet the district’s requirements in two classes during the second semester of the 2008-09 school year, according to Turner.
Those failing grades were changed earlier in the school year after Perez spoke with the teachers involved in the situation, Turner said.
Both of the Federal Way teachers have stated that they forgot to submit grade forms with the corrected information on them after Koontz completed the makeup work. According to Turner, the corrected versions have since been submitted, and Koontz’s transcript has passing grades.
If the athletic directors do not totally agree with the findings of the investigation or the report from Perez next month, they could ask for more information, which could lead to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) appointing its own fact-finder.
