Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Parents ask Belen Schools be restrained from keeping son off baseball team

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

The parents of a Belen High School junior have filed an emergency motion in district court asking that a judge restrain the school district from suspending their son from playing baseball this season.

The parents of Robert Romero Jr., a 16-year-old Belen High School junior, filed a motion for a restraining order for preliminary injunction after the school board upheld the boy's suspension from participating in school athletics after being named as a suspect in a crime. The Romeros' attorney, Amavalise Jaramillo, writes in the motion that the suspension has damaged his chances of obtaining a baseball scholarship and that the district violated his due process rights depriving him of the property right to compete for a baseball scholarship.

The school district's attorney, Art Melendres, filed a motion to dismiss the Romeros' motion for a restraining order saying that it "fails to properly invoke the jurisdiction of the court." Melendres says that even if jurisdiction were found, Robert Romero Jr. doesn't have a constitutional right to compete for a baseball scholarship.

Melendres argues that the motion seeks to have the court reverse a disciplinary action taken by administrators and the school board. He says there is no provision in state statute for appeal to the district courts "from such discipline policies or their consequences.

"In such circumstances, the only way in which this court can review those disciplinary policies or their application is by writ of certiorari issued pursuant to Rule 1-075," he wrote.

According to the court documents, Romero's parents say that coaches have commented that he "has the potential to play at the next level" and that coaching staff at a New Mexico community college has made scholarships available to seven BHS baseball players.

The district, the parents allege, suspended Romero after he was involved in a crime, which was alleged to have occurred off school grounds in early February. According to the police report, which was filed as evidence, a friend of Romero's was shot after allegedly breaking into a vehicle on La Luz Court.

The police report alleges that Romero was driving a car that the injured teen fled in.

Neither Romero, his friend nor the alleged shooter have been formally charged in the case. The News-Bulletin has learned that the charges are still under review at the district attorney's office.

Romero's parents say that the high school "somehow ended up" with the police report that contains blanks in the place of the names of the other parties, but spells out their son's name.

The parents say that their son was in the tryout stage of the baseball season when the alleged crime took place. They assert that because their son was not yet accepted onto the team, he was not subject to the New Mexico Athletic Association's six pillars of character.

According to a letter sent to Romero's parents from Belen Schools Athletic Coordinator Jim Danner, the student is suspended from the baseball team for the remainder of the season for violating the rules of conduct outlined in the district's athletic handbook, including the NMAA's six pillars of character. The parents appealed Danner's decision to the school board, which upheld his decision.

The Romeros argue that because their son was in the baseball try-out stage, he was not given a copy of the handbook and was not required to sign a contract.

District Judge William Sanchez has been assigned to the case. A court hearing has not yet been scheduled.

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