DUBUQUE – Tears poured out of Dubuque Hempstead High School cheerleaders’ eyes when they learned the school district would not allow them to participate in a national cheerleading competition in Orlando. The girls celebrated after a performance last month scored them an invitation to a national cheerleading competition in Florida. Then, those cheers quickly turned into confusion when the district’s superintendent said she wouldn’t approve the trip. Monday night, about 200 people gathered at the Dubuque school board meeting to try convince the superintendent to change her mind. “We’ve been working on this routine since April. It’s been almost a year since we’ve been working on this. It’s pretty much just saying all the dedication and hard work people put in, doesn’t pay off in the end,” cheerleader Heather Little said. Cheerleader Madi Pierce said, “This just is another negative thing toward our school and we need something positive right now.” Superintendent Larie Godinez said she would not approve the trip to Florida for a variety of reasons ranging from paperwork to policy errors. “There are personnel issues that I cannot share that have weighed heavily into my decision. All personnel issues must remain confidential. The problems that have lead up to this situation are more far-reaching than the team not having completed the right paperwork,” Godinez said in a prepared statement. In addition, Godinez also said the competition is sponsored by a private, for-profit company and not state-sanctioned. The superintendent listened to a parade of parents, cheerleaders and community members asking her to allow the girls to go, but Godinez’s only response was to read a typed statement she wrote before hearing any of the comments. “She was not listening. I felt we were not being heard. The decision was made before we walked in the door tonight,” parent Denise Foht said. “This was once in a lifetime for me and for many of the squad members and it’s just terrible that we got just shut down,” cheerleader Mercedes Dress said. Cheerleaders are typically the students who try to brighten everyone’s day, but after this decision, they’ll have to rely on their classmates to give them a boost instead. KCRG-TV9 asked the school board and the superintendent if they would like to comment for this story, but both declined. Cheerleading policy