Bye Cheerleading? Western New York School Makes Big Changes

A cheerleading team appears to have been disbanded by a school district in Western New York.

The situation unfolded in the Cheektowaga Central School District. The cheerleading team coaches, Sierra Gray and Kayla Hutcheson, were allegedly told by the district that the teams would “no longer be able to cheer for winter sports on Tuesday,” according to WKBW.  

As Hutcherson recounted the incident, she confirmed that the athletic director of Cheektowaga Central School District did not give her a reason for the abrupt decision. 

The coaching staff informed the cheerleading teams of the news, and the captains decided to speak out on their social media platforms. 

An online petition was created by Julianna Steinberg, and it has already garnered close to 2,000 signatures. Some people that have signed the petition are alumni of Cheektowaga Central. 

“[The school has] been trying to pull this stunt since I was a 2017 senior,” wrote Becky, after signing the petition. “STAND UP FOR IT GIRLS !”

The Cheektowaga Central School District Superintendent, Scott Zipp, issued a statement in regards to the cheerleading team. 

As reported by WKBW, that statement is as follows: 

“It is the district's full intent to have a winter season of cheerleading. The Athletic Director is currently evaluating the program by making sure we will have qualified coaching candidates as well as enough student athletes to participate.”

It is unclear how many cheerleaders are required to be on the roster to be considered a full team, but Coach Hutcheson confirmed with WKBW that the Varsity team has 16 girls and the modified team has 6.

The Cheektowaga Central cheerleading team has been a national title holder for cheerleading in recent years. Last April, they claimed runner-ups in nationals.