A surprising new dress code that resulted in cheerleaders being banned from wearing their uniforms to class has the Monroe schools in histrionics over hemlines.
Like many high schools in Greater Cincinnati, Monroe cheerleaders have a long tradition of wearing their uniforms to school for Friday football games and other events.
But this year, the 1,000-student Butler County school district changed the dress code to require all skirts worn during school hours to be no shorter than three inches above the knees.
The cheerleaders were told Thursday that their slit-sided mini skirts would violate the policy, unless the girls wore leggings or long shorts under the skirts.
Angry cheerleaders and their parents have been buzzing ever since. The story even picked up enough steam on the Internet to get mentioned on CNN.com.
“This came out of left field last week when they told the girls and us parents about the change. Our jaws just hit the ground,” said Tammy Ihle(CQ), whose daughter is a freshmen football cheerleader at Monroe High School.
“We’ve spent more than $400 on the uniform and she worked hard and earned the right to wear her uniform at school,” Ihle said. “The cheerleading uniform skirts have always been short…If the uniforms are OK for crowds at a pep rally or football game why (aren’t they) all right for classes?”
Monroe Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli says officials plan to meet with disgruntled parents, but says there are no plans to change the policy. Officials maintain that fewer flashing gams during school hours will be more conducive to learning.
“One thing we did not do well about this is communicating,” Lolli said. “The cheerleaders are leaders in the school and it’s not their fault that they got caught up in a miscommunication. There are lessons here for all school administrators, including myself.”
Some parents say it’s ridiculous to lump cheerleading uniforms in with concerns about students dressing in overly provocative ways.
In fact, it has been common practice for decades in many Greater Cincinnati high schools for cheerleaders to wear their outfits to classes prior to sporting events.
For example, the Lakota schools – the seventh largest district in Ohio – has a dress code but makes a special exemption for official uniforms. So do the Little Miami Schools in Warren County.
Monroe cheerleaders were told that the skirts would be OK to wear with leggings, but that doesn’t satisfy some parents.
“My daughter comes home from school that day and said the girls were broken hearted. They feel like they are being stripped of everything they have earned,” Ihle said.
Krista Petersen, whose daughter is a member of the freshmen cheerleading squad, said she and other parents plan to take their complaints Sept. 22 to the next Monroe Board of Education meeting.
