After the coach turned in necessary paperwork almost two weeks
late, Sobrato’s competition cheer team was denied approval to
attend an upcoming national competition.
After the coach turned in necessary paperwork almost two weeks late, Sobrato’s competition cheer team was denied approval to attend an upcoming national competition.
Parents and the coach are seeking to overturn the denial since the coach was unaware of the deadline.
The National Cheerleading Competition in Anaheim will be March 26 through 29. Since the trip would include an overnight, out-of-town stay, it needed board approval at least 60
days in advance, according to
a board policy that was revised in March 2007.
Ann Sobrato High School Principal Debbie Padilla denied the request before it got to the board because it was turned in to her Feb. 6, 12 days shy of the required 60.
Melissa Cousens is a “walk-on” coach, which means she’s contracted by the district. Cousens said she wasn’t privy to the rule, which is in the staff handbook. Since Cousens is not full-time staff, she did not receive a handbook. Since she wasn’t aware and wasn’t forewarned to get the paperwork turned in as the deadline approached, Cousens is hoping for an exception to be made.
“I’m just really disappointed in the current decision,” Cousens said. “I’ve been doing this for 16 years and I would never let a piece of paper get in the way.”
The competition cheerleading team, made up of 18 varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders, spent months working on routines for up to 15 hours each week, Cousens said. They competed in three regional competitions, all in anticipation of the grand finale, the nationals.
Senior Jessica Perez said she hoped the district changed its mind.
“I’d be devastated” if they didn’t, she said. “It would be a letdown, (after) all the time and effort we’ve put into doing all our practices. It would just be really upsetting.”
This would have been Perez’s only opportunity to compete nationally. While Sobrato’s competition cheer team has been to nationals each year since the school opened in 2004, Perez has not yet participated in one.
“I was so excited,” Perez said. “It’s supposed to be awesome. We’ve been pumped up for this since the beginning of last year.”
Padilla responded via e-mail to a Times request for comment.
“Board Policy 6153 requires that all school-sponsored ‘trips involving out-of-state or overnight travel shall require 60-day prior approval by the Board.’ This trip was requested after the 60-day window and was denied, as we have had to do in the past,” Padilla wrote.
Cheer parents like Mary Jo Cetani and Jenny Perez-O’Callaghan are lobbying hard for a reversal of the decision.
“My position on that is, it’s not a field trip to go to a concert or museum that can be rescheduled,” Cetani said. “This is a national event the girls qualified for. It’s once a year. The girls are being punished and they’re not able to put Morgan Hill on the map… because of a paperwork error.”
But as the competition approaches, it’s not looking good for them.
“We do have a board policy that we adhere strongly to,” Board President Don Moody said. “I would have to support (Padilla’s) decision. It sounds like she’s playing by the rules. I’m surprised that they didn’t know. It’s very unfortunate.”
