Londonderry, New Hampshire cheer program suspension extended amid bullying investigation
LONDONDERRY, N.H. – The Londonderry, New Hampshire school board extended the suspension of the high school's varsity cheerleading program amid an investigation into bullying and discrimination. The JV program was reinstated during a Monday meeting.
The cheer program was initially suspended for at least two weeks at the beginning of September when allegations of a toxic and pervasive culture of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the Londonderry High School squad surfaced.
On Monday, the board consulted with its attorney in a non-public session and voted unanimously to reinstate the JV program. School officials said an investigator determined there were no bullying concerns within the JV squad.
The investigator has conducted interviews with 20 people so far in a total of 24 session. Board members said the investigator has 12 interviews remaining and "continues to narrow the allegations."
The remaining interviews are expected to be completed within the next two weeks, and the board will provide preliminary findings by October 9. In the non-public session, board members voted to continue the varsity program's suspension until then.
Some parents voiced their concerns during the Monday night meeting.
"It happens in every single hallway in this school, let's talk about Londonderry High School mostly. It happened in middle school too," one speaker said.
"I am horrified the way this all went down," another woman added. "To put out a statement, a press release, like that before you even started an investigation and put these girls into harm's way is ridiculous. They were cyberbullied like nobody's business."