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Parent and former booster club president alleges coach downplayed student injuries
Summary
Esmeralda Bermudez told the board that Cibola cross-country coach Amy Sauter discouraged injured students from reporting and submitting medical documentation, alleging lasting physical and emotional harm to multiple students; the board did not take action during the meeting.
During the public-comment period, Esmeralda Bermudez, who said she was last year’s booster club president, accused Cibola High School cross-country coach Amy Sauter of placing team results above student health and safety.
Bermudez told the governing board that the coach "put their health, well-being, and safety last," accused the coach of downplaying students’ injuries and of telling a student to "just keep running," and said one parent told her their daughter required medical treatment and was still in therapy two years after graduation. Bermudez said the coach discouraged turning in doctor's documentation that would excuse students from practices.
Board members asked her to state her full name for the record; Esmeralda Bermudez did so. The board did not announce any immediate investigation or personnel action during the meeting. The speaker referenced prior meetings with board members (naming Mr. Peavey and Mr. Robinson) where the parent had described the incident.
The allegations are the speaker’s account; no coach response or staff report was offered at the meeting. The board’s public-comment rules limit board responses to asking staff to review matters or scheduling the matter for later consideration. The transcript records no board request to staff during this session about this specific allegation.
