Fourteen of the troop's 16 high-school-age scouts have decided not to go door-to-door this year, though they'll still sell to cookies to people who request them.

"They were upset and they feel powerless because their voice isn't being heard," Cassidy told The Associated Press on Monday.

Selling cookies is a lot of work for little money, she said, adding that less than a dollar from the sale of each box is returned to the troop to support its activities, such as camping and educational field trips. The scouts will find other ways to make up for the lost funding.

"They can get jobs at McDonald's or do baby-sitting jobs, pet-sitting jobs. So that's the way that they will earn money then," Cassidy said.

Cassidy said troop members and parents were reluctant to talk to the media because the feared repercussions from the local council. Six or seven of the girls are working toward the Gold Award, the highest achievement in girl scouting, and didn't want any comments to affect their work toward that goal, she said.

Council officials didn't immediately return messages, and a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of the USA said she was unavailable to comment Monday.

Tags: New Girl Scout cookie: Can 'Smiles' compete with Thin Mints?