I’m sure Daddy is really proud…

A 2005 gender discrimination claim against East Hardin Middle School has been settled out of court. Melissa Barner, mother of Bobby Thorn, agreed to a settlement that included a $3,000 cash payment and requires East Hardin’s staff to undergo nondiscrimination training.

The principal, teachers and Jo Edwards, the former cheerleading coach who works as a school counselor, also must report to the commission any claims of discrimination made against the school in the next three years.

The discrimination claim Barner filed with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights accused Edwards, the school’s former cheerleading coach, of not allowing a boy on the squad solely because of his gender.

“It wasn’t ever about money,” Barner said.

School officials denied any wrongdoing.

Her son, Bobby Thorn, now 13, has been cheering since he was 6½ and is an avid gymnast.

Barner said students and parents knew Bobby would try out for the squad, so it should have been no surprise for the school.

After three days of tryouts in the spring of 2005, Bobby, then 10, learned he had not been chosen.

“He cried for 45 minutes,” Barner said. “It broke his spirit.”

Honestly, good for the kid. I’m sure he’ll put that $3,000 toward charity since it wasn’t about the money to begin with *cough* and continue his meteoric rise to gymnastic and cheerleading fame and fortune.

But, “nondiscrimination training?” Honestly, has that ever been proven to actually do anything? Have these programs ever actually turned someone around? Or has it just taught them to be much more clever in how they discriminate.

My guess is that it’s much more of the latter.