Breaking news....Cheerleading Controversy Brews In School District

(ok, so why post this? To me it underscores that the main local news source is interested in local news, so people turn elsewhere for national news...and national news is sucking of late. How can we expect people to make smart decisions when their main news sources are local and a national news that blows off real news for entertainment? Not all people are online and up to date like we are here - how we fix it is another issue)

#2 story at this paper: Cheerleading Controversy Brews In School District

#1/2 Stories on Fux news: Radio Daze
Dem, GOP senators spar over talk radio

and the one about a couple giving their baby booze.


Cheerleading Controversy Brews In School District

By DAWN M. HENLEY
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 8:17 PM PDT

dhenley@oakdaleleader.com

Concerns regarding bias and conflicts of interest have been swirling around the judging of Oakdale High School's varsity cheerleading tryouts since April. The issue has not been put to rest yet for some students and parents, as they made an appearance at the recent Oakdale Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting to address the board during the public comments portion of the meeting. The parents asked the board to review the issue and Superintendent Dr. Wendell Chun's decision on the matter.

OHS held cheerleading tryouts in April. Of the 28 eligible girls who tried out for the varsity squad, 20 of them made the team. Three judges known to many of the girls scored them on their performances. One of the judges is the sister to the 2006-2007 varsity cheer coach Crystal Buckley and was also a former freshmen cheer coach at OHS. Another judge was also a former junior varsity cheer coach at OHS. The third judge is the owner of a local gym where cheer classes were taught and cheerleader-only circuit training also took place.

Following tryouts, score sheets were tabulated and destroyed shortly after. Also destroyed were the confidential letters of recommendation that the girls received from their teachers.

District Superintendent Dr. Wendell Chun said that these procedures are not unusual. He stated that over the years there has been a mix of judges from outside the area, as well as judges who are local and known to the students. He compared the judging of the cheer tryout process to that of speech contests and scholarship committees where volunteers judge the students. He said it is also sometimes difficult to find judges. He also added that in all extra curricular activities, which kids make the team is at the discretion of the coach. Chun stated that the scoring and recommendation documents are not considered official pupil records.

There have been allegations of personal conflicts between the varsity cheer coach and some of the girls who didn't make the squad, close personal relationships between the judges and girls who made the squad, as well as questions surrounding the calculation of the scores by one person and the destruction of the scoring documents. Also being questioned is the legality of the cheer coach requiring the 2006-2007 varsity cheer squad to take circuit training at that local gym and having the girls pay for it out of their own pockets.

http://www.oakdaleleader.com/articles/2007/06/20/news/news2.txt