Dance line to buy new costumes

AUSTINTOWN — The Fitch High School dance line will buy new costumes after being told the ones they have are the wrong colors.

Tim Kelty, sophomore principal at Fitch, said this week that at a meeting between administrators and Lorie Gessler, dance line coach, it was agreed that the costumes would be reordered.

They’ll likely be here in time for the start of winter sports at the end of November.

Dance line co-captains and Gessler addressed the board of education earlier this month to protest the high school’s administrative decision to ban their new costumes — long black pants and black tank tops trimmed with red — from school events.

The administration became aware of the costumes’ colors after a complaint, and decided “as a team” not to allow them, Kelty said. School colors are navy blue and red.

The new costumes will be the same style as the black ones, but in the school colors.

Parents of dance line members were upset that they had spent $85 on the costumes, only to be told their daughters couldn’t use them.

Kelty said Thursday the new uniforms will be paid for by donations and fundraisers. He said they already have been ordered.

Gessler could not be reached to comment.