The Calhoun Middle School cheerleading squad was disbanded shortly before Christmas, much to the surprise of team members and parents.

Parents who had children on the team, which is only for eighth-graders, received a letter dated Dec. 20 from Calhoun Principal Anthony Sims stating that there would be no more practices or activities for the rest of the school year.

“I have no idea why it’s [the cheerleading season] being cut short,” said parent Cheryl Hudson. “I feel like the girls deserve better than that.”

Denton school district spokeswoman Sharon Cox said Sims had to end the season, which included only three more basketball games, because the two staff members who coached the team were bogged down with other responsibilities.

Both of the coaches — Cheryl Hassel and Melissa Seaman — are pursuing degrees and have families that also need their attention, Cox said. Both women have two children.

“They had to resign, and Mr. Sims couldn’t find anyone else,” Cox said.

Cox said keeping cheerleading sponsors is a challenge at many middle schools, not only in Denton but all over the state.

In Denton, cheerleading coaches receive $500 for the school year, Cox said.

“It is very time-consuming for the stipend they receive,” she said.

But some parents feel like they are the ones being shortchanged.

Tracey Hitchings, mother of the squad’s co-captain Markeisha Joyner, said earlier in the school year, parents had raised questions over the team’s finances and concerns about the coaches’ attitudes toward the girls.

Hudson said that parents tried discussing the issues with the coaches and assistant principals directly but that their explanations were unsatisfactory. Parents have tried but were unable to get Sims involved in their concerns, she said.

“We just didn’t get good answers,” she said.

Parents met Saturday to discuss whether to file a complaint with higher-level administration. Some parents said they feel the middle school’s administration has only listened to their concerns and has not done anything to resolve them.

While the school definitely has the right to disband the team, officials should have included parents in the process, said one parent who asked not to be named out of concern that she or her daughter might be reprimanded.

“All I’m asking for is communication,” she said.

Many parents at the meeting also raised concerns that their daughters will face repercussions from the disbandment when they try out for the high school team, believing that the middle school sponsors will be making recommendations to the high school coaches.

Cox said that while the high school cheerleaders usually are recommended for the team, to the best of her knowledge, those recommendations generally come from their teachers.

Markeisha Joyner said the frustration is probably greatest for the girls, many of whom were hoping that the experience would give them a shot at making it on the high school squad.

While she has spent years cheering with other organizations, she said this was her first year to be on a “real team.”

“All of us wanted to do it really bad,” she said. “Everybody’s mainly upset because we really didn’t do anything to get this.”

Markeisha said the team understood that the coaches had other priorities, and some girls believed the coaches were not as committed as the team would have liked them to be.

“If you’re going to sign up for something like this, you have to realize it’s going to take a lot of time, and you need to take time out,” she said.

The letter instructed parents to return their daughter’s uniforms and pom-poms by today. The girls are allowed to keep other accessories they purchased, including monogrammed bags, sweat suits and shoes.

Cox said Calhoun will have a team next year, and tryouts for the team will be in the spring.

SARAH CHACKO can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is schacko@dentonrc.com.