Post by son of corb on Jul 18, 2008 21:35:32 GMT -6
This is nuts.
Decision on La Feria cheerleader delayed
By FERNANDO DEL VALLE/Valley Morning Star
July 18, 2008 - 12:21AM
LA FERIA - Lawyers Thursday agreed to postpone a grievance hearing in which the school board was expected to decide whether to return a girl to the varsity cheerleading squad, a school attorney said.
School officials postponed a hearing in which Javier and Nancy Loredo planned to request the school board to return their daughter to the varsity team, said Ivan Perez, an attorney who represents the school district.
Parents' attorney Miguel Salinas asked that the Loredos' grievance hearing be merged with hearings planned for three other parents who want their daughters returned to the varsity squad, Perez said in a telephone interview.
"This (Thursday) morning, they asked to have all the grievances heard at one time," he said.
The hearing was set for July 29.
Outside district offices Thursday evening, Nancy Loredo accused district officials of "stalling."
"Our hope was for this to be settled before camp," she said, referring to cheerleading training camp next week in San Antonio. "I wanted this to be settled. I want to breathe again."
Perez strongly denied the accusation.
"There's no stalling - no attempt to stall whatsoever," he said. "We're trying to be as accommodating as we could be."
Outside district offices, Norma Torres said her stepdaughter left home to live with her mother in San Antonio because of the district's decision to drop her from the varsity squad.
"Not only did she lose her dream, but I lost my daughter," said Torres, a nurse's aide. "She didn't want to be here anymore and face her friends. It not only affected her emotionally but socially with her friends."
The parents argue their daughters didn't make the March tryouts because school officials switched their cheerleading partners.
So officials put their daughters on the junior varsity squad, they said.
After reviewing the case, he placed the Loredos' daughter on the varsity squad, Superintendent Nabor Cortez wrote in a May 16 letter to the parents.
The request to change partners "created what could be perceived as an inequitable situation ...," Cortez wrote.
But in a June 19 letter, Cortez told the parents he reversed his decision.
"(T)here was no evidence that the unpairing was detrimental in any way," Cortez wrote.
Cortez also argued the girls who didn't make the tryouts lacked skill to perform safe cheerleading routines.
"(T)he most critical factor weighing in on my decision-making process is the safety of all the cheerleaders," Cortez wrote.
"It is my understanding that there is a disparity in skill level between the students," Cortez wrote. "(I)t is ultimately my responsibility to ensure that no child is placed in a situation ... where they are no longer safe when carrying out cheerleading activities."
Parent Armando Alaniz said Cortez told him that he feared hard feelings could lead varsity cheerleaders to intentionally drop his daughter during aerial stunts.
Perez, who spoke on behalf of Cortez, said he was only aware of the safety concern that Cortez addressed in the letter.
Decision on La Feria cheerleader delayed
By FERNANDO DEL VALLE/Valley Morning Star
July 18, 2008 - 12:21AM
LA FERIA - Lawyers Thursday agreed to postpone a grievance hearing in which the school board was expected to decide whether to return a girl to the varsity cheerleading squad, a school attorney said.
School officials postponed a hearing in which Javier and Nancy Loredo planned to request the school board to return their daughter to the varsity team, said Ivan Perez, an attorney who represents the school district.
Parents' attorney Miguel Salinas asked that the Loredos' grievance hearing be merged with hearings planned for three other parents who want their daughters returned to the varsity squad, Perez said in a telephone interview.
"This (Thursday) morning, they asked to have all the grievances heard at one time," he said.
The hearing was set for July 29.
Outside district offices Thursday evening, Nancy Loredo accused district officials of "stalling."
"Our hope was for this to be settled before camp," she said, referring to cheerleading training camp next week in San Antonio. "I wanted this to be settled. I want to breathe again."
Perez strongly denied the accusation.
"There's no stalling - no attempt to stall whatsoever," he said. "We're trying to be as accommodating as we could be."
Outside district offices, Norma Torres said her stepdaughter left home to live with her mother in San Antonio because of the district's decision to drop her from the varsity squad.
"Not only did she lose her dream, but I lost my daughter," said Torres, a nurse's aide. "She didn't want to be here anymore and face her friends. It not only affected her emotionally but socially with her friends."
The parents argue their daughters didn't make the March tryouts because school officials switched their cheerleading partners.
So officials put their daughters on the junior varsity squad, they said.
After reviewing the case, he placed the Loredos' daughter on the varsity squad, Superintendent Nabor Cortez wrote in a May 16 letter to the parents.
The request to change partners "created what could be perceived as an inequitable situation ...," Cortez wrote.
But in a June 19 letter, Cortez told the parents he reversed his decision.
"(T)here was no evidence that the unpairing was detrimental in any way," Cortez wrote.
Cortez also argued the girls who didn't make the tryouts lacked skill to perform safe cheerleading routines.
"(T)he most critical factor weighing in on my decision-making process is the safety of all the cheerleaders," Cortez wrote.
"It is my understanding that there is a disparity in skill level between the students," Cortez wrote. "(I)t is ultimately my responsibility to ensure that no child is placed in a situation ... where they are no longer safe when carrying out cheerleading activities."
Parent Armando Alaniz said Cortez told him that he feared hard feelings could lead varsity cheerleaders to intentionally drop his daughter during aerial stunts.
Perez, who spoke on behalf of Cortez, said he was only aware of the safety concern that Cortez addressed in the letter.
