My choice.
Posted on 06/21/2003 8:10:48 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A former Quartz Hill cheerleader and community queen who alleges she was unfairly treated during cheerleader tryouts last year has taken her fight to federal court after an unsuccessful attempt in the California Superior Court system.
In court papers filed this week, former Quartz Hill High student Kelly Smith alleges the Antelope Valley Union High School District violated her civil rights when she was rejected at cheerleader tryouts, according to published reports.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by Smith, who contends that cheerleading coach Tammy Stewart, allegedly motivated by racial bias, rigged her scores during the 2002 tryouts. Smith is seeking unspecified damages from Stewart and other school district employees.
"We're not going to try our case in the media," Kelly's mom, Liz Smith, said when asked to comment on the current case.
Kelly Smith tried out for the varsity cheer squad in May 2002 and did not make the squad. She had been a cheerleader her sophomore and junior years. The Smiths allege Stewart manipulated the tryout process. The Smiths took their complaint to the board of trustees, which conducted a hearing on the matter and decided not to discipline Stewart or terminate her.
The Smiths filed a petition against the high school board of trustees, Superintendent David Vierra, former Quartz Hill High Principal Barbara Willibrand and Stewart in September in Superior Court. Their petition asked the court to order the board of trustees to determine whether the Smiths received a fair hearing on the matter but a judge denied their claim, saying it was not within the court's jurisdiction.
The federal filing raises the first allegation of racial or ethnic basis during the year the matter has been in dispute.
The high school district, Stewart, current Quartz Hill High Principal Brett Neal and school district employees Joanna James and Jay Clark are named as defendants in the federal suit, as well as 25 unnamed inclusive defendants. According to district officials, Neal was an assistant principal part of last year and became interim principal in January.
Smith, a minor when the original documents were filed, is now an adult. She filed an amended petition in March against the high school district only, seeking a "complete hearing" before the board.
School district officials have not seen a copy of the lawsuit and declined to comment.
Smith's former attorney filed a motion to be relieved as attorney of record. However, before the court had an opportunity to hear the matter, the Smiths obtained Beverly Hills attorney Thomas Hanrahan as replacement counsel.
A secretary in Hanrahan's office said he was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.
Liz Smith, who declined Friday to allow her daughter to speak, said the federal case is about "everything that's happened to her" and that the original case was "never just about cheerleading."
"It was portrayed that way because it looked good (to the media)," she said.
Smith declined to say why charges of racial bias against Stewart and the high school district were not brought forth previously.
"You have to read the court papers," she said.
A copy of the federal lawsuit was not immediately available Friday.
Stewart has not seen a copy of the lawsuit and referred comments to her lawyer, Lancaster attorney R. Rex Parris.
"How many kids are not going to have a classroom, or will be packed into a classroom because of the money spent defending this nonsense?" said Parris, who spoke vis telephone while on vacation out of state.
He added that the district is spending "hundreds of thousands of dollars" on the case and that "it has a real, palatable impact on those kids, which is becoming outrageous. At some point they (the Smiths) have to look at reality."
Oh, please. Now I ~have~ heard everything.
Well, we're just too laid back in these parts.
Community Queen? What dat?
<|:-)~~
http://www.theav.com/queens/quartzhill/miss2001/missquartzhill.htm
No she isn't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.