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RUPERT, Idaho (AP) — Idaho officials have fined a high school over student chanting at a basketball game, saying the chants singled out an individual for harassment.
Members of a state education board said Minico High School students crossed the line by chanting "Tara" whenever a specific player had the ball, reported The Times-News (http://bit.ly/20preMM ). Tara is the name of the student's mother, a former Vice Principal at Burley High School who was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two female students.
There is a "difference between cheering and having fun," said Rod Malone, District IV secretary for the District Board of Control, and extension of the Idaho High School Activities Association. "When you start singling an individual out and harass them, that's totally unacceptable."
The District Board of Control on Wednesday fined Minico $1,500 for students' behavior at a Jan. 28 game against Burley High School.
Malone said the board plans to send members to the remaining games between now and March to see how the students conduct themselves and how Minico administrators handle them.
"The administration at Minico is embarrassed by the incident," said Kenneth Cox, superintendent of the Minidoka Joint School District. He said the school administration has held discussion about the impacts of the chants.
Minico principal Suzette Miller was not available for comment.
Malone said the board has the authority to clear Minico's student section out if a similar thing happens in the future. He said the whole state knows about the incident.
"They are getting the word out there that this crap is not tolerable," he said. "It's not even just a Burley and Minico thing. It's statewide."
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
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