Safety concerns prompt St. Cloud schools to tighten security at high school games
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St. Cloud schools are adopting new safety measures at outdoor sporting events that include moving evening games to late afternoon.
The school district says all remaining football and soccer games for the fall season will start at 4:30 p.m. Spectators also must pass through a metal detector, and can bring only small, clear bags. And attendees must leave immediately after the game.
School district officials say the changes were prompted in part by recent violence at other Minnesota high schools, as well as a potential local threat.
"Our main purpose is to make sure kids have a good experience, our fans and our spectators have a good experience at our events,” said Jason Harris, assistant superintendent of secondary education for St. Cloud schools. “We don't want it to be ruined by poor choices from teenagers or adults."
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The St. Cloud Police Department said it’s investigating a social media post about a large fight planned at Tech High School's homecoming football game on Friday. No weapons were mentioned in the threat, according to Commander Martin Sayre of the department’s community engagement division.
Harris also said last week's shooting that injured two people outside Eden Prairie's homecoming game was a factor. An 18-year-old has been arrested.
The school district already had metal detectors that it used at last year’s high school graduation ceremonies, but this will be the first time they’ve been used at an athletic event, Harris said.
With the earlier start times, the games should be wrapped up before dark, which is when most problems tend to occur, he said. A few people have complained about the changes, but most have been supportive, Harris said.
“We had families that were appreciative say, ‘Hey, you’re thinking about our safety and you want us to have a good experience. We’d rather you be preventive than reactive,” he said.
The new policies will continue at least through the remaining fall season, Harris said, and could be extended into winter.
