-SPORTS-
By Elizabeth Perry
Sto-Rox Junior/Senior High School Cheerleading coach Jasmine Kirkland offered to donate her entire coaching stipend to buy uniforms for her team.
The offer was placed during the Sept. 21 workshop meeting agenda, and the school board unanimously declined it.
“I’m not going to recommend the cheerleading advisor forfeit her salary. She’s only getting $1,000,” said Paul Sroka, business manager for the Sto-Rox School District.
Sroka said the reason the uniforms weren’t ordered had to do with confusion about what the team already had.
There was also a dearth of funds in the budget to buy new uniforms, but Sroka said he could find money from other sports departments which didn’t need their full budgets in order to pay for the uniforms.
“I’ll figure it out,” Sroka said.
He also said there needed to be a greater lead time between when the squad ordered uniforms to when they needed them. The two-week notice he received was not enough time to guarantee the clothing would arrive in time, he said.
Kirkland, a recent hire, wasn’t able to articulate the needs of the team to Sroka any earlier.
Kirkland did not respond to a request for comment.
Sroka said he wasn’t trying to assign blame, and that the budgeting with sports that year had been difficult.
In order to prevent future confusion about what each sports department needs, Sto-Rox Junior/Senior High School Principal Kim Price has begun having standing meetings with Athletic Director Steve Bressler for supervision and communication purposes, Superintendent Megan Van Fossan said.
“I hope to never see something like this on the agenda again,” School Board President Cameron Culliver said.