Pep squad concerns made public

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT BEACH -- A group of cheerleaders at Newport Harbor High School

are taking their quest to have their former coach reinstated to the

community.

Nine varsity cheerleaders and seven junior varsity pepsters are

speaking out in a letter addressed to the community now that the initial

shock over her departure has subsided.

In late January, a district memo informed coach Lisa Callahan that she

was no longer allowed on campus because of improper hiring procedures

when she got the position 13 years ago.

At the time, the cheerleaders said little, though they had been a

vocal part of a controversy over the group’s tryouts in the fall.

The letter illustrates the frustration cheerleaders saythey feel about

not having any say in the decision and the crisis that preceded it

regarding how many cheerleaders would be allowed on the school’s two

squads.

“Most of us didn’t say a word and waited patiently for this whole

dilemma to end,” the letter states. “Lisa’s heart and soul was put into

this job, and she loved each girl with everything she had. How can a

school take away a coach who had so much passion for what she did?”

Callahan’s dismissal came after igniting a cheerleading hullabaloo

that pitted girls against girls and parents against parents.

She complained of judging irregularities during the tryouts and then

agreed with school officials to allow everyone who tried out to be on the

two cheer squads until the judging was investigated. An independent

committee eventually found the judging to be fair, and Principal Michael

Vossen decided to hold tryouts again for four more spots.

The cheerleaders have been working without a full-time coach for about

a month. But some part-time employees have been hired in the interim,

said Jaime Castellanos, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s

assistant superintendent.

The lack of a full-time, experienced coach is being partially blamed

for an accident that occurred at cheerleading practice Feb. 25. It was

sophomore Erika Kerr’s first day of practice on the junior varsity squad,

and she was practicing complex stunts that the rest of the team had been

working on for a month.

As one of the girls who had been tossed up in the air came down, Erika

collided with another girl on the ground and broke her nose.

Erika’s mom, Annette, said it was irresponsible for her daughter to be

practicing dangerous stunts on her first day of practice, even though

Erika volunteered to participate.

“It may not have happened if [Callahan] was here,” Annette said. “We

need [a new coach] now.”

Castellanos, however, contends Erika’s injury was not due to lack of

supervision.

“I think even if there had been a coach there that knew the routines,

accidents do happen,” Castellanos said. “I don’t think it was due to

anybody’s negligence or because anybody wasn’t there.”

Regarding her hiring status, Callahan said she fulfilled all the

requirements about eight years ago and couldn’t do anything further

unless the district requested it, which she said they did not.

She said she is waiting for an invitation from the school to come back

on her own terms.

In their letter, the cheerleaders blame school officials for acting

vindictively toward Callahan.

“These [hiring] details can easily be fixed, but our administration is

still not allowing Ms. Callahan to resume her position as coach, for

reasons that our principal, Mike Vossen, states as ‘personal.’ In our

eyes, this is incredibly unfair to everyone,” the letter states.

Vossen did not return repeated phone calls for comment.

Kerr said a majority of the cheerleaders’ parents also want Callahan

back. After spending three hours with her daughter in the emergency room

last week, Kerr said she went to a cheerleading meeting where a large

group of parents tried to talk about reinstating Callahan but were

thwarted in their discussion by members of the booster club.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .

INSIDE

Cheerleaders speak out on the controversy. See Page 5