Londonderry, NH cheer program suspended over bullying and discrimination allegations
LONDONDERRY, N.H. – Allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination about the Londonderry New Hampshire high school cheerleading squad has prompted the school board to suspend the program for at least two weeks.
"It's hard to hear what's come up. You always want to make sure you kids are safe at school and I think that's what we are trying to get to the bottom of," Superintendent Dan Black said.
One student, who does not want to be identified, says she experienced harassment and plans to speak out.
"I had to quit, because it was just so bad mentally," the student said. "I had been told some mean comments because I got injured. And I was told to quit, to my face. There was a lot of bullying going on."
The allegations were brought to the school board's attention two weeks ago by a concerned parent. A letter to families was sent from the superintendent saying the allegations encompass the entire program including coaches, students and parents.
"The amount of allegations that have come to us in terms of harassment, bullying and discrimination have become too complex and we just need outside legal help to kind of sort through them and really make sure all of our students are safe and their wellbeing is in a good place when they are on the cheer team," Black said.
The suspensions come at the beginning of the school year and before the kickoff to football season. There are about 25 girls on the varsity and junior varsity teams. They will miss at least one of the home games.
"An indefinite suspension we don't have enough information. None of the allegations that we have right now do we know to be true. So that seemed a lot to go there, so I agree with the school board in terms lets take a little bit of time to go through things and see what's going on," Black said.
The program's coaching staff will be placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.
"Safety and wellbeing come first and that's where we always going to be focused on," Black said.
As for the student who says she was harassed, she is glad these allegations are being brought to light. "I was happy and my voice was going to be heard," she said.
Superintendent Black says the suspension will carry on until at least September 25 at which point the school board will re-evaluate the program's standings for the remainder of the season. These allegations remain under investigation.