By Dan King
After years of being a club sport and funding all expenditures on their own, Whitehall cheerleaders have returned to the ranks of a school sanctioned sport.
Cheerleaders, to the surprise of some board members, had been funding their own uniforms and trips every year.
“I had no idea that you guys were buying new uniforms every year,” Jeremy Putorti, board of education member said, “If the school could find funding for higher quality uniforms, would you guys be able to reuse them?”
The cheerleaders and coaches in attendance responded to Putorti’s question with a resounding “yes.”
After years of following club sport protocol and fundraising their way into the season, the cheerleaders came to Superintendent Elizabeth Legault in hopes of being reinstated as a school sanctioned sport.
“The district pays for the coaches’ stipend; if we acknowledge the coaches, I think we should recognize the girls or boys who cheerlead.” Legault stated.
For this upcoming school year, the cheerleaders will be wearing the uniforms that they purchased with their fundraisers, but moving forward that could change. The board members decided that, in addition to reinstating cheerleading as a sport, they would seek the funds to obtain school sanctioned uniforms in the future.
“If they’re going to be a school sanctioned sport, they are going to wear the official Whitehall ‘W’.” added Legault.