CHERRY TWP — Years of tension came to a head Monday at a meeting of Moniteau School District’s extracurricular committee, in which organizers and members of the competitive cheerleading team relayed their frustrations about the “lack of respect” they get from the district.

Melissa DeMatteis, program director of the team, said the final straw that led organizers to attend the meeting was because the team did not receive necessary funding to hire a choreographer from the district’s 2022-23 operating budget.

The team, entering its sixth year, also has not officially been named a school sport, DeMatteis said, even though it was supposed to be designated as such after a three-year probationary period.

She said the least the team expected was to receive $4,000 for a choreographer, which it received last year.

“The parents and the boosters have to pay for it all,” DeMatteis said. “That’s how we have been running it all along.”

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