No high school Valentine for Jerry Springer

updated 8:23 a.m. ET Feb. 9, 2006

SARASOTA, Fla. - Sarasota High School sent a Valentine to Jerry Springer — and then took it back.

The talk show host had accepted an invitation from the school’s cheerleaders to headline the “Hollywood Nights” dance Saturday.

But administrators withdrew the invitation Wednesday, saying Springer, whose TV guests include unfaithful lovers and brawling friends, was not an appropriate role model for students.

“He has his own career,” Principal Jeff Hradeck told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “It’s not the way we want to go for the school.”

The cheerleaders, who sponsor the dance, wanted to invite a local celebrity, said Detective Karen Hicks, a cheerleading sponsor and school resource officer.

“We were just sitting down talking about who lives in Sarasota. Everybody knows that Jerry Springer lives in Sarasota,” Hicks said. “It wasn’t (based) on who does this show or who does that show or is this a good person or is this person a bad person.”

The cheerleaders are looking for another celebrity to host the dance.

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