September 18, 2019 at 10:34AM
Angela Wojtak and her daughter Vanessa had a message for the Kenosha Unified School District on Tuesday evening."I think it's disgusting. I feel hurt, angry," they said. "The girls are merely trying to pay remembrance to her for five minutes of a football game," Angela added.Vanessa is on the Bradford High cheerleading team. She says they wanted to honor her best friend, 15-year-old Kaylie Juga, who was shot and killed in May.Police say it was her ex-boyfriend, Martice Fuller, who went inside the Juga home, shot and killed Kaylie and also shot her mother, 39-year-old Stephanie Juga, who survived.The cheerleaders planned to perform a routine at a Friday football game in her honor, bring her picture on the field, and have a moment of silence. "And it wasn't going to be a long routine, it was going to be like a minute and 30 seconds," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak, a friend and cheerleader with Kaylie.The school district denied their request. In a statement, they said in part:"The District will not sanction any memorials or acknowledgements because it would be legally required to do so for all students involved in order to protect the District against possible legal claims. Instead, the District will remain neutral. While the District fully supports students and staff in moments of crisis, it cannot allow memorializing or acknowledging one student without allowing it for both. In addition, student-organized efforts will not be endorsed and/or supported by the District and/or its personnel. However, the District will not prevent students from memorializing or acknowledging those involved in their own ways, except when they are acting on behalf of or representing Bradford and/or the District (e.g. as an athlete, speaker, performer, etc.). Many in the Kenosha community may not agree with this difficult decision, but the District asks that the public honor its decision as it works to take into consideration the well-being of all of its students - past, present and future." "There is nothing neutral about this, if we want to do a routine for our friend we should be able to do a routine for our friend," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak.Juga's parents took to Facebook expressing their frustration.At a school board meeting on Tuesday evening, students were visibly upset and demanded answers from board members. "If she was here right now, she would be cheering with us. We would be able to see our friend and her mom would probably be at the game watching her daughter cheer," said Pignotti-Wojtak.
Angela Wojtak and her daughter Vanessa had a message for the Kenosha Unified School District on Tuesday evening.
"I think it's disgusting. I feel hurt, angry," they said. "The girls are merely trying to pay remembrance to her for five minutes of a football game," Angela added.
Vanessa is on the Bradford High cheerleading team. She says they wanted to honor her best friend, 15-year-old Kaylie Juga, who was shot and killed in May.
Police say it was her ex-boyfriend, Martice Fuller, who went inside the Juga home, shot and killed Kaylie and also shot her mother, 39-year-old Stephanie Juga, who survived.
The cheerleaders planned to perform a routine at a Friday football game in her honor, bring her picture on the field, and have a moment of silence.
"And it wasn't going to be a long routine, it was going to be like a minute and 30 seconds," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak, a friend and cheerleader with Kaylie.
The school district denied their request. In a statement, they said in part:
"The District will not sanction any memorials or acknowledgements because it would be legally required to do so for all students involved in order to protect the District against possible legal claims. Instead, the District will remain neutral. While the District fully supports students and staff in moments of crisis, it cannot allow memorializing or acknowledging one student without allowing it for both.
In addition, student-organized efforts will not be endorsed and/or supported by the District and/or its personnel. However, the District will not prevent students from memorializing or acknowledging those involved in their own ways, except when they are acting on behalf of or representing Bradford and/or the District (e.g. as an athlete, speaker, performer, etc.).
Many in the Kenosha community may not agree with this difficult decision, but the District asks that the public honor its decision as it works to take into consideration the well-being of all of its students - past, present and future."
"There is nothing neutral about this, if we want to do a routine for our friend we should be able to do a routine for our friend," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak.
Juga's parents took to Facebook expressing their frustration.
At a school board meeting on Tuesday evening, students were visibly upset and demanded answers from board members.
"If she was here right now, she would be cheering with us. We would be able to see our friend and her mom would probably be at the game watching her daughter cheer," said Pignotti-Wojtak.
Angela Wojtak and her daughter Vanessa had a message for the Kenosha Unified School District on Tuesday evening."I think it's disgusting. I feel hurt, angry," they said. "The girls are merely trying to pay remembrance to her for five minutes of a football game," Angela added.Vanessa is on the Bradford High cheerleading team. She says they wanted to honor her best friend, 15-year-old Kaylie Juga, who was shot and killed in May.Police say it was her ex-boyfriend, Martice Fuller, who went inside the Juga home, shot and killed Kaylie and also shot her mother, 39-year-old Stephanie Juga, who survived.The cheerleaders planned to perform a routine at a Friday football game in her honor, bring her picture on the field, and have a moment of silence. "And it wasn't going to be a long routine, it was going to be like a minute and 30 seconds," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak, a friend and cheerleader with Kaylie.The school district denied their request. In a statement, they said in part:"The District will not sanction any memorials or acknowledgements because it would be legally required to do so for all students involved in order to protect the District against possible legal claims. Instead, the District will remain neutral. While the District fully supports students and staff in moments of crisis, it cannot allow memorializing or acknowledging one student without allowing it for both. In addition, student-organized efforts will not be endorsed and/or supported by the District and/or its personnel. However, the District will not prevent students from memorializing or acknowledging those involved in their own ways, except when they are acting on behalf of or representing Bradford and/or the District (e.g. as an athlete, speaker, performer, etc.). Many in the Kenosha community may not agree with this difficult decision, but the District asks that the public honor its decision as it works to take into consideration the well-being of all of its students - past, present and future." "There is nothing neutral about this, if we want to do a routine for our friend we should be able to do a routine for our friend," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak.Juga's parents took to Facebook expressing their frustration.At a school board meeting on Tuesday evening, students were visibly upset and demanded answers from board members. "If she was here right now, she would be cheering with us. We would be able to see our friend and her mom would probably be at the game watching her daughter cheer," said Pignotti-Wojtak.
Angela Wojtak and her daughter Vanessa had a message for the Kenosha Unified School District on Tuesday evening.
"I think it's disgusting. I feel hurt, angry," they said. "The girls are merely trying to pay remembrance to her for five minutes of a football game," Angela added.
Vanessa is on the Bradford High cheerleading team. She says they wanted to honor her best friend, 15-year-old Kaylie Juga, who was shot and killed in May.
Police say it was her ex-boyfriend, Martice Fuller, who went inside the Juga home, shot and killed Kaylie and also shot her mother, 39-year-old Stephanie Juga, who survived.
The cheerleaders planned to perform a routine at a Friday football game in her honor, bring her picture on the field, and have a moment of silence.
"And it wasn't going to be a long routine, it was going to be like a minute and 30 seconds," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak, a friend and cheerleader with Kaylie.
The school district denied their request. In a statement, they said in part:
"The District will not sanction any memorials or acknowledgements because it would be legally required to do so for all students involved in order to protect the District against possible legal claims. Instead, the District will remain neutral. While the District fully supports students and staff in moments of crisis, it cannot allow memorializing or acknowledging one student without allowing it for both.
In addition, student-organized efforts will not be endorsed and/or supported by the District and/or its personnel. However, the District will not prevent students from memorializing or acknowledging those involved in their own ways, except when they are acting on behalf of or representing Bradford and/or the District (e.g. as an athlete, speaker, performer, etc.).
Many in the Kenosha community may not agree with this difficult decision, but the District asks that the public honor its decision as it works to take into consideration the well-being of all of its students - past, present and future."
"There is nothing neutral about this, if we want to do a routine for our friend we should be able to do a routine for our friend," said Vanessa Pignotti-Wojtak.
Juga's parents took to Facebook expressing their frustration.
At a school board meeting on Tuesday evening, students were visibly upset and demanded answers from board members.
"If she was here right now, she would be cheering with us. We would be able to see our friend and her mom would probably be at the game watching her daughter cheer," said Pignotti-Wojtak.