Katherine Lewis
The saga of Nick Sofos heads to court again today.
The Naples High senior who dropped his pants as part of a prank at a school function will be in front of Judge Lawrence Martin at 2 p.m. in Naples.
With the Collier County School Board announcing last week that they will decide next week, May 22, if Sofos should be expelled, Sofos and his family is looking for Martin to uphold an appellant court injunction that will allow him to graduate and participate in all other senior activities.
The Naples High graduation is on May 25th.
Sofos has been attending classes since winning the appeal.
Martin has heard this case once before and ruled in favor of Sofos.
POSTED On May 8th
The Collier County School Board will decide on the last day of school for seniors if Naples High School 12th-grader Nick Sofos should be expelled.
The Sofos family received notice Monday afternoon that they must appear in front of the board for an expulsion hearing at 3:30 p.m. May 22, said Tony Sofos, Nick’s father.
If Nick is expelled, he wouldn’t be able to participate in graduation just three days later, May 25, or any other senior activities.
“The suspension action was taken and expulsion action is being considered because Nicholas Sofos has committed a serious breach if conduct and has committed acts which have substantially disrupted the orderly conduct of Naples High School,” according to the notice.
“Of all of the outrageous things they have done, this is the most unbelievable so far,” Tony Sofos said. “I don’t understand the logic. I am dumbfounded.”
Collier County School District officials would not comment Tuesday afternoon, according to spokesman Joe Landon. The district referred comment to its attorney, Robert Menzies.
Menzies was in a trial Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Nick had been suspended for 10 days and sent to the Phoenix Program, a Collier County alternative school, after dropping his pants at a fashion show at the school.
He had been asked to co-host the Nov. 9 evening fundraiser for the school’s drama club. He planned the mooning, wearing thong underwear to avoid showing anything but his buttocks.
Just before intermission, Nick feigned an accidental pants-drop and turned his back on the crowd. After about 10 seconds of mock befuddlement, Nick pulled up his pants, apologized and exited the stage.
On Nov. 10, after the students had the day off from class for Veterans Day, he was ordered to leave the school’s football game. On Nov. 13, Nick was sent to in-school suspension for the incident. He told the assistant principal his pants fell down by accident, according to the expulsion notice.
On Nov. 14, Nick and his father attended a meeting with Principal Nancy Graham. Toward the end of the meeting, Tony Sofos said he was handed a letter informing him the meeting was an expulsion hearing. Nick once again told school officials his pants fell down by accident, according to the expulsion notice.
On Nov. 17, Nick e-mailed Graham to explain he lied, according to the expulsion notice. That act violates the Code of Student Conduct Rule 1, which “prohibits insubordination or other acts of disrupting or interfering with educational, extracurricular and administrative process, such as failing to follow a reasonable request,” according to the notice.
District officials assert Nick’s actions violated Rule 11 of the Collier County Code of Student Conduct, which states that “a student shall not use any method of communication, including electronic communication, that is obscene or profane, that causes personal humiliation or is likely to disrupt the school education, extracurricular or administrative process.”
Violation of this rule can lead to suspension, according to the code of conduct.
After Nick was placed in the Phoenix Program, his parents sought an emergency injunction. On Friday, Dec. 1, Collier County Judge Vince Murphy granted the injunction and ordered the district to allow Nick to attend Naples High.
“He was suspended for 10 days. He went to that program for 10 days and now you want to expel him?” said Adam Steinberg, the attorney representing Sofos. “That’s absolutely insane. It is vindictive. It is mean-spirited.”
Menzies said in January the local court had no legal basis or right to enter the injunction.
He said Tony Sofos waived his son’s rights to attend Naples High when he signed the waiver to enroll his son in the Phoenix Program.
According to the School District’s Web site, if a parent and student agree to the conditions of the Phoenix Program, the student will be enrolled. If they don’t agree, the expulsion recommendation will be forwarded to the School Board.
Menzies said that Murphy, as part of his ruling, determined Nick couldn’t waive his rights because he is a minor. He said it was Tony Sofos who made the ultimate decision, however.
The district appealed the decision to the 2nd District Court of Appeal. The court in April agreed to uphold the judge’s order that Nick stay at Naples High.
“Nick has been a stellar student. He is a member of the lacrosse team,” Sofos said. “They are being vindictive towards my son to prove a meaningless point.”
Nick is not facing criminal charges from the incident.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office investigated and found that Nick’s account that he wore thong underwear so that his backside was exposed was correct. The Sheriff’s Office found there was no frontal nudity.
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