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Parent tells Tempe Union board of alleged inappropriate behavior by Mountain Pointe beach-volleyball coach
Summary
A parent, Sharifa Rowe, told the board she and her niece experienced boundary-crossing conduct by the Mountain Pointe beach-volleyball coach, said the coach refused to meet on March 30 and asked the district for a formal meeting, peer review and clearer coach–student interaction policies; no district response is recorded in the public transcript.
At public comment on May 21, Sharifa Rowe told the Tempe Union High School District governing board that her niece was subjected to boundary-crossing behavior by the Mountain Pointe High School beach-volleyball coach and that attempts to resolve the matter locally had failed.
Rowe said the problem began when the coach "shared a personal dream about whether the girls liked him and directly questioned them about it," creating an "uncomfortable dynamic." She described team assignments that were changed without explanation, a private matter publicly disclosed on the team bus and what she characterized as dismissive responses when she and her niece sought a private meeting. Rowe said she first attempted to address the matter on March 5 and that the coach subsequently "is refusing to meet with me as a parent or guardian," a refusal she said she learned of on March 30.
Rowe asked the board for three actions: a formal meeting with district leadership and school officials and an apology from the coach; a peer review and establishment of clear policies that define appropriate interactions between coaches and students; and protections to ensure students are not silenced when raising concerns.
The board reiterated public-comment limits under policy BED 8; the transcript does not record any immediate district response to Rowe's specific allegations or a staff assignment to investigate within the public meeting. The transcript also does not record a subsequent meeting date or follow-up decision. The public-comment period is limited to directing staff to study matters or scheduling them for further consideration, as the board stated at the start of the comment period.
Why it matters: Allegations of inappropriate conduct between staff and students trigger protections and investigative responsibilities under district policy; the public record in this meeting shows a parent's allegation and formal requests for district action but no recorded outcome in the public session.
