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Cheerleading boosters ask Fairport board to install indoor hoists for heavy mats
Summary
Fairport Cheerleading Booster Club requested the district prioritize funding and install permanent indoor hoists at Martha Brown to avoid students carrying 6x42‑ft, ~130‑lb panels from an outdoor container; boosters said hoists were in a prior budget but were not installed and requested work before August 2026.
Wendy Purnell, representing the Fairport Cheerleading Booster Club and coaches, told the board on May 28 that cheer mats currently are stored in an outdoor metal shipping container and that retrieving them for practice is dangerous in winter conditions. "There is no lighting inside the container," she said, describing frozen locks, snow and ice blocking doors, torn storage‑bag handles and the need for students to lift mats that are large and heavy.
Purnell provided specific details: each mat panel is approximately 6 feet wide by 42 feet long and weighs about 130 pounds when rolled, she said, and the program has two full sets for a total of 18 panels. She asked the district to prioritize funding and to install permanent indoor hoist systems at Martha Brown, noting the wrestling program already has a hoist installed and that, according to the boosters, hoists had been approved in the athletic director's 2025–26 budget but were never completed.
"This is not simply an inconvenience. It is definitely a safety issue," Purnell said, asking that installation occur, if possible, prior to students returning in August 2026. Board members thanked the speakers and directed staff to collect contact information so they could follow up; the chair also reminded public‑comment rules that the board does not engage in a back‑and‑forth during the public‑comment period but encouraged follow‑up outside the public comment portion.
The booster club asked the district to consider the request during capital planning; presenters later discussed capital and spend‑down plans for summer projects during the meeting, but the booster’s request was recorded as public comment and no formal vote or immediate funding decision was announced at the session.
