Who's in charge at your child's school?

An LA high school basketball player has been a prominent part of her team for the last three years. Now she's going to another high school for her senior season.

Friday she went to her old school to get a copy of a waiver from a test she took last year, to help qualify her for something else. Of course, the counseling office had no copy of the waiver. Told her they'd thrown last year's stuff out. What was more, the counselor she'd talked to last year was out sick indefinitely. So the young baller went to find the Athletic Director to see if she could help her.

The AD told her, "since you're checked out (of the school), I can't help you anymore."

Unbelievable isn't a strong enough word to describe this situation or this AD, but I'm not going to start cussing in this space. So let's try reprehensible, appalling, assinine, selfish, hateful, immature, spiteful, bitchy, trifling, mean-spirited and hateful towards children.

I wish this incident was an exception, but bad coaches and school staff are everywhere. And they get away with their crap, for the most part, in low-income areas. Try to pull that mess in Palos Verdes or Orange County and someone would get fired. In poor areas, parents don't bother to take a stand because they don't think it'll make a difference or that they could change anything - the self-confidence is that low.

A coach at another school in a low-income area was recently let go, and it should have happened a long time ago. But parents of the past didn't protest or try to talk to school officials.

To all the parents out there: your voice does make a difference. Remember the old saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"? It's true to the tenth power at schools. Check up and make sure coaches and athletic directors are doing right by your child, and if not, take it to the school administration. If that doesn't work, keep taking it up the ladder. Bad treatment of your children should not be tolerated.