The coach had to take to the board and they gave it a thumbs down without even a consideration.
As this is a government school, there are laws in place to require transparency in government, open meetings, public records, freedom of information, etc. This means that parents can learn the reason(s) why the coach's request was declined. For example:
- Was it an issue of insurance?
- Are background checks required for the parents?
- Is a school representative required to attend the event?
- What specific State Laws and/or School Policies are cited as reasons for denying the request? (If there is no state law or school policy which addresses your issue, then organize interested parents to help draft a suggested policy to guide future decisions, manage expectations, and provide consistency.)
Depending upon your State Laws and School Policies, most likely the parents can request the reasons for the board's decision, so that your strategies to prevent a repeat of this disappointment address the true issues (and are not based on guesswork).
For next year, most likely the parents can organize their proposal and deliver it directly to the board members and/or address the full board at a regularly scheduled meeting... rather than depending on the coach to present to the board (as the coach may recommend against the parents' proposal, out of self-interest).
