Future of cheering expected to be hot board meeting topic
By Staff
Leada DeVaney, Hartselle Enquirer
The sponsors of Hartselle High School cheerleaders have retracted their resignations, at least until Thursday's school board meeting.
Last week, Martha Cooper and Sonie Wilson spoke with HHS Principal Jerry Reeves about resigning from the sponsorship jobs. They later met with Superintendent Dr. Lee Hartsell, who said he asked them to remain as sponsors.
At the time, Cooper and Wilson said they wanted to resign. Since that time, however, they said they wished to hold their resignations until after the school board meeting. The meeting is set for Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. at Barkley Bridge Elementary School.
Wilson confirmed she would be at the meeting but said she had no additional comments. Cooper could not be reached for comment.
The resignations come on the heels of complaints about the way cheerleaders were selected at the high school. At the center of the controversy is Cooper and Wilson's business, Hartselle Gymnastics, and if it's fair for Cooper and Wilson to serve as judges for cheerleading tryouts.
School Board Chairman Ronnie Abercrombie said "there appears to be some valid areas of concern," about the cheerleading situation.
"The main aspect (of concern) is the selection process," Abercrombie said. "Since the concerns have been brought forward it gives us a chance to look at it."
Abercrombie said he would like to form a committee to look at the cheerleading policies and, particularly, how they are selected.
"It's not enough to be right, it's got to look right," he said. "People have to perceive our program as being fair."
Including in the items to be examined is the possibility of having outside judges, such as those from the Universal Cheerleading Association, judging the tryouts.
Until the sponsorship matter is resolved, cheerleading tryouts have been put on hold.
The cheerleading matter came to a head earlier this month when Hartselle resident Mike Dowdy sent a certified letter to Hartsell, questioning the tryout procedures and a gymnastics program operated at the high school by Cooper and Wilson. In a response to Dowdy, Hartsell said all funds generated when the gymnastics program was at the high school went through the school office and were audited as part of its annual process.
