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.”

Several parents and booster members attended Monday’s meeting, as well as a majority of the cheerleaders on the team. Several cheerleaders and parents said they believe the team is not treated as well as other sports at the school, despite placing third in the state last year.

Luke Kunkel, the district’s athletic director, said in the meeting that the athletic department budget included about $10,500 for the team. He also said the district upped the funding for bus transportation to $4,500, which is included in the budgeted number.

Hannah Welter, head coach of competitive cheer, said the team has 13 varsity members and five junior high school members. She said the team needs money to hire a choreographer because the sport is based around creating routines the members then rehearse and perform.

DeMatteis said the district allocating more money to the team would help the parents, who have held fundraisers to raise a lot of the money needed to fund the team over the years.

“It would save our parents a lot of money,” she said. “The parents are paying $1,100 per girl.”

Board member Randy Armagost, who exchanged comments with the organizers about the team’s operation throughout Monday’s meeting, suggested coaches schedule a meeting with Kunkel to get an item on the agenda for the next school board meeting, which is Aug. 8.

Kunkel said the situation could be rectified.

“At no point to begin with was the budget for competition cheer going to be zero,” Kunkel said. “We are trying to make this better now and for the future.”