Cheerleaders fail to rally support from the council
By Nathan R. Huff
Two! Four! Six! Eight! Whom does the town appreciate? The answer, at least when it comes to doling out discretionary funds, is not the Los Gatos Pop Warner Jr. Pee Wee Cheerleading Team.
Council members, citing their fear of setting a precedent, denied cheerleading coach Stephanie Addison's request for town assistance. Addison had asked the town to help the team pay for its journey to Orlando, Fla., where last week it made its first-ever appearance in the Pop Warner National Championship Competition.
Addison, who estimated it would cost $31,850 to transport the 43 girls and six coaches to Florida and back, had hoped the council would follow the lead of neighboring cities Mountain View and Santa Clara. Those cities contributed $5,000 to their teams in previous years.
Mayor Steve Blanton, who placed the item on the council's Dec. 6 agenda, was the only council member to support funding the team. Although Blanton did not expect the council to be as generous as the larger cities, he later said that "a token gesture would have been appropriate."
"I was somewhat disappointed," Blanton said. "They're a community group going to a national championship, and it's not unprecedented for a community to help out."
After the meeting, Addison and her fellow coaches also expressed their disappointment. "Other cities support their teams, and they couldn't give us a dime," Addison said.
The dissenting council members said that, although they supported the girls and their efforts, they did not want to set a precedent that could hurt them in the future. "If we were going to consider this, it should be in some sort of fair, competitive process [with other requests]," Councilman Randy Attaway said.
Several council members added later that the lack of preparation and hard numbers (to indicate how much money the team needed) also led to the council's decision.
Addison admitted her group did not prepare numbers or a presentation; they believed the council would make a decision based on the letter the town received from the team.
"I didn't even know we had to talk," she said, adding that it was difficult to produce hard numbers because many parents had already given more than they could afford, and the group had secured a loan to cover remaining expenses.
The team, composed of 8- to 11-year-olds, won two regional competitions before advancing to Orlando. Results were unavailable at press time.
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
