To the editor:

What’s the message sent to students regarding the recent firing of the Lawrence High School pom coach (“School board fires pom squad coach,” Oct. 28 Journal-World)? It probably had less to do with the dangers of alcohol than with the peril of sticking out one’s neck for a friend. Justice may have been served, but what about common sense, loyalty and decency? Rather than pillory a pom squad member in front of her parents and peers, the coach apparently tried to transform the student’s mistake into a teaching moment. The coach placed greater stress on the student than on the policy, and for this she was fired.

And the school board, with one eye forever looking at future elections and fearful of showing mature compassion, hid behind the letter of the law.

Such legalism is not conducive to a healthy school spirit.

Ray Finch,

Lawrence