Spirit team leaves meeting in tears after GUSD board rejects
their appeal
Gilroy – Their faces downcast and their spirits dampened, Gilroy’s varsity squad walked out of the district office with, alas, nothing to cheer about.
“There was definitely a lot of tears,” said Alexis Dalke, a Gilroy High School cheerleader and school president.
In a 5-2 vote, the Gilroy Unified School District board rejected an appeal from the high school cheerleading squad allowing them to attend a February field trip. Trustees Javier Aguirre, Rhoda Bress, Tom Bundros and Pat Midtgaard voted against the field trip, while Trustees David McRae and Jim Rogers voted in the cheerleaders’ favor.
Since the 1980s, the GHS cheerleaders have traveled to Honolulu to compete in the Pro Bowl, but Thursday evening the 11-member varsity squad learned that this year is an exception. The girls were invited to the competition, which required missing three days of school, for earning superior rankings during summer cheer camp.
To compete in the Saturday event they must participate in all three practices, which run from Wednesday through Friday. In August, Principal James Maxwell placed his stamp of approval on trip but when the district office received the request it was denied.
GUSD Assistant Superintendent Jacki Horejs said the request was rejected based on the district’s interpretation of Board Policy 6153. The policy, passed in June of last year after much controversy, discourages field trips that result in excessive loss of class time.
The squad appealed the decision and it was placed before the board for consideration. Maxwell reviewed the request beforehand and the principal rescinded his original decision, saying he changed his mind and decided that three days is excessive.
Before the board cast their votes, team advisor Jeanne Baumgartner stepped up to the podium and, while wiping away tears, pleaded with the trustees. With her team by her side, the former GHS teacher explained that she graduated from the high school as valedictorian and that as a cheerleader also competed in the Hawaii trip.
The team sets the trip as a goal their freshman year and spends their career fundraising.
Each board member also weighed in on the issue.
Trustee David McRae kicked off the discussion, delivering a lengthy speech about the lifelong memories he carried into adulthood from the numerous field trips he attended in high school. The experiences he retains from band trips taken as a student at Morgan Hill’s Live Oak High School could never be replaced by a day in the classroom, he said.
To emphasize his point about the power of real-life experience, McRae explained that you can read books about how a steak tastes but will never know the true flavor and texture until that first bite. The next day, after the vote had already been made, McRae said he still doesn’t understand the motives behind the rejection when the cheerleaders earned the honor.
“I mean what did we do but crush some spirits,” he said. “What educational goal, in my way of thinking, is served? … I don’t see a consistent philosophy. I’m sure if this was a band (function) there would be a different opinion.”
During the meeting McRae pointed out that the board approves field trips for other extracurricular groups without batting an eye. He referenced the three band trips waiting on the consent agenda, which the board approved at the end of the meeting, asking why those weren’t also under the microscope.
Two of the three trips required missing Fridays and McRae said he wondered why the board seems to think it’s okay to miss a day here and there that adds up to three days, but not three consecutive school days.
Also, student board representative Bryan Walker, said athletes often leave class early for sporting events.
But Trustee Tom Bundros said people are assuming that the situations described are acceptable but they’re not. The board vice president said he’s concerned about the loss of instructional time caused by all extracurricular activities and that he does consider three consecutive days out of the classroom excessive.
“Believe it or not, there is life after high school,” he said, adding that the students will have a chance in the future to travel to Hawaii.
Midtgaard thanked Maxwell for rescinding his initial approval and supporting the intent of the board policy. The board president mentioned that GHS is not a high-performing high school, and although she doesn’t think having the girls in the classroom for those three days will change that, in the long-term it will make a difference.
“And as Woody Allen said, ’90 percent of success is showing up,’ ” she said.
For Dalke, who happens to have a 4.30 grade-point-average, the trip was a second chance to compete in a truly memorable event. The school president actually participated in the contest her sophomore year and was looking forward to going again.
“I strongly believe that high school’s (about) a lot more than academics,” Dalke said.
