KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Park Hill elementary and middle school students who want to attend a high school football game must now be accompanied by an adult throughout the game, according to the Park Hill School District.
The new rule comes one week after several fights off the field ended the Park Hill versus Park Hill South football game early. Park Hill was leading Park Hill South 42-0 with 9:44 left in the game.
“It was very chaotic and some points very scary,” said Park Hill sophomore Baileigh Blankenship, who was at the game. “You weren’t really aware of what was going on fully.”
According to the district, no one involved in the fight needed medical attention and reports of a stabbing incident were incorrect.
To keep everyone safe after a fight, we ended game 10 minutes early with score of 42-0. Nobody involved with fight needed medical treatment.
— Park Hill Schools (@ParkHillSchools) September 2, 2017
In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday explaining the incident further, the district’s superintendent asked anyone who might have recorded the fight to send the videos to the district in order to help identify those involved.
It is unknown if the district received any videos.
Two days later, on Thursday, the district sent an additional letter to parents of elementary and middle school students, requiring adult supervision throughout the entire game. According to the letter, parents will no longer be able to drop their kids off at a football game unless those students are in high school.
“It’s not the school district’s responsibility to manage all activities of children at school events. They do their best to make sure events are safe, but I do think parents have a responsibility to parent their children,” said Marji Gehr, whose two sons are in middle school.
Although the district called last week’s incident “unusual,” they said the additional requirement is meant to keep athletic events “safe and enjoyable for everyone.”
At Friday’s Blue Springs versus Park Hill football game, the district increased police presence. Instead of four Platte County Sheriff deputies, there were ten.
