PEA RIDGE — Facing a roomful of concerned cheerleaders and their parents, Pea Ridge School Board members were asked to reinstate the athletic hour during the school day for cheerleaders. After an executive session, the board directed the administrators - superintendent Mike Van Dyke and high school principal Rick Neal - to provide an athletic hour for cheerleaders.
“We want to give you and the principals a directive on cheerleading,” board president Jenny Wood said to Van Dyke.
That sentiment was echoed by board member Rick Webb: “We’ll go through our steps. The board has given a directive. We pay the administrators to make a game plan. This board has given the administration a directive.”
The directive to reinstate an athletic hour and investigate the possibility of an assistant included that if the assistance comes from volunteers, the administration was to be thorough in the interview and certification process.
The loss of the athletic hour, which is provided for all other athletic programs, was the result of the resignation last month of Courtney Hurst from senior high cheerleading. What board members said they did not know, and what was presented by both the parents and Hurst at Thursday’s board meeting, was that Hurst did not want to resign, but had initially asked for assistance in coaching.
The applicant hired by the school administration, awaitingboard approval, was Jamie Bunting. Bunting was hired to teach special education in the elementary school and, as such, was not available for an hour during the day, according to Keith Martin, primary school principal. Her hiring was approved Thursday.
When asked, Hurst told the board she had asked the administration for an assistant to help with the grueling schedule which extends from August to February, from football to basketball to competition and includes fundraising. That request was denied. Hurst said she asked to have help for the out-of-town games, but was denied, and that decision resulted in her presenting the board with her resignation from coaching last month.
Hurst said, “I asked for help for the travel. I still coach the practices, the home games and the competition, but with my current family situation, I need help.”
Hurst has a 1-year-old child and her husband is in the military and is scheduled to be stationed overseas. “I don’t have an assistant. I’m run ragged. We go twice as long ... My kids were moving up to AAAA, and we’re in the top three in the state ... I hate the fact that my kids may not have an athletic hour because they don’t have a coach.”
Hurst continued to work with the squad, awaiting a replacement. After tryouts for senior high earlier this month, cheerleaders learned they would not have an athletic hour in their schedule.
About 40 cheerleaders and their parents attended the School Board meeting held Thursday night.
“It does feel a little bit like they’ve been slighted,” said Brian Tidwell, parent and appointed spokesman.
“Has Mrs. Van Dyke resigned?” Tidwell asked, referring to the junior high cheer coach.
“She’s taken a leave of absence,” Van Dyke said of his daughter-in-law.
“I spoke with Mrs. Van Dyke, she said if it were up to her, she wouldn’t,”Tidwell said.
“She’s a family member.
I talked to her, she’s having two babies. I don’t think it’s healthy for her. Yes, that was my request ... I didn’t twist her arm. I felt like she was good with it. I didn’t coerce her.” Van Dyke said.
“I spoke with Mrs. Hurst, it wasn’t her desire either,” Tidwell said. “She asked for help with her away games and was denied.”
“I just got the resignation,” Van Dyke said.
“I think Mrs. Van Dyke and Mrs. Hurst have worked incredibly hard to build a cheerleading program and have personally invested a lot of time,” Tidwell said.
“Is your biggest concern the school hour?” asked board member Joshua Ramsey attempting to clarify the problem.
Tidwell said all three of his children are involved in sports and it helps to have one hour during the day for the athletic hour.
“How do I explain to my daughter in cheer that she doesn’t get an hour, but her brother, in football, does?” Tidwell asked.
“I absolutely love the cheer program,” Ramsey said. “It’s a program in Pea Ridge that has excelledover the past four years.”
Webb said “I don’t want anyone in the room to think anyone was slighted.
I didn’t realize there was a problem of this magnitude. ... I can see both sides. We need to be good stewards of the district’s money and see that it’s spent well.
This is complete news to me tonight.”
Wood: “We know there’s an issue now. Whenever I was asked to put this on the agenda, I agreed because we wanted the rumors to stop. Make sure you have your facts. We do have a resignation and a leave of absence in hand.”
Webb said the problem should have been resolved before becoming so large that a group of people had to attend a school board meeting.
“This shouldn’t hit the school board,” Webb said. “I wish it had beensolved 60 to 90 days ago ... If you’ve got a problem, knock on the door.”
In other business, the board approved:
◊Hiring Heather Phillips, second grade; John Gibson, sixth grade; Teresa Shackelford, fifth grade;
Andrew Pennington, middle school math and junior high boys’ basketball;
Evelyn Villarreal, high school Spanish; Lauren Brian, second grade; and Jamie Bunting, special education and senior high cheerleading coach; Sarah Stokes, intermediate school principal;
Randy Easterling, transportation director; and Charlie Brewer, bus mechanic.
◊Transferring Anthony Carrera from middle school math to high school math; Heather Marlow to special education clerk, and Brenda Mangrum to intermediate school registrar.
◊Not renewing contracts for Gloria Fletcher, Stacy Lane, Susan Johnson, Kristen Jackson, Beverly Brewer, Teresa Cochran, Ramona Morgan and Cheryl Tillman; and
◊The resignations of Judy Johnson, fifth grade teacher, and of Dan Hickman, bus driver for 25 years.
Cheerleading is a sport
Cheerleading was declared a sport by the Arkansas Activities Association in 2008, according to Annette Savage, assistant director for the AAA.
Being a sport entitles cheer squads to compete for state championships - something the Pea Ridge High School has done, and done well. PRHS cheerleaders placed second in coed cheer championship statewide in 2009, according to the AAA Web site.
There have been six PRHS cheerleaders to go on to college on cheer scholarships. They are:
◊Jake Patton, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 2006
◊Shae Fuller, College of the Ozarks 2006
◊Ashyln Kalies, University of Tulsa 2008
◊Bianca Keene, U of A, Ft. Smith 2008
◊Nicole Brown, SMU 2008
◊Dalton Fralin, U of A, Fayetteville 2010
“I love the Blackhawks. I’m proud to be a Blackhawk,” said Brian Tidwell, parent of three students, all athletes, and spokesman for the group at the meeting.
“I think Mrs. (Nikki) Van Dyke and Mrs. (Courtney) Hurst have worked incredibly hard to build a quality cheer program.
“The highest scholarships for boys has been in cheerleading,” Tidwell said. “Cheerleading is a legitimate sport. Our cheerleaders go to state competition. They work very hard.”
News, Pages 1 on 06/16/2010