McKeesport High School's football field temporarily closed due to 'vandalism and misconduct'
McKEESPORT, Pa. (KDKA) -- A sign at the McKeesport Area School District states the football stadium is monitored by twenty-four hours a day video surveillance, but that wasn't enough to stop alleged "vandalism" at that facility.
Late Sunday, McKeesport Area School District announced the football stadium at the high school is closed temporarily, due to vandalism and misconduct. The Athletic Director, Charley Kiss said the post picked up a life of its own from there and the post is a little bit more of a "significant statement" than what has actually been occurring at the stadium.
"In fact, some phone calls from our district staff and coaches already, saying 'Hey, I saw the Facebook post, are we going to be able to use the stadium today?' And absolutely," Kiss added.
Kiss said the stadium is fully operational for district activities like football, track, and classes, but after school and extracurricular the public will not have access, like normal.
"Basically, just to say, hey once our district activities are done in the evening, you're going to find that facility to be locked," Kiss elaborated.
The doors will be locked according to Superintendent Dr. Tia Wanzo. She told KDKA-TV there's more litter, loitering, and no one there to monitor the space later in the day.
"It's just that the continuation of it being a loitering spot, we're uncomfortable with it being unsupervised and we have to get a little more of a handle on," said Kiss.
Safety comes first, even though the superintendent and athletic director still want taxpayers to use the space responsibly.
"Even though we're locking it right now, we are going to develop a schedule where that will still be available to the public but maybe just not as frequently as they've been used to," Kiss added.
Superintendent Wanzo told KDKA a separate incident at the stadium added to this decision. Over President's Day weekend, parents reached out over a large group of students gathering there, which lead to an altercation. Dr. Wanzo said everyone's ok, but it's another reason for more adult supervision.
"95% of the time kids are going up there and doing what kids do. They're playing football, they're using the facility properly, and that's a shame to take that away from them but safety is always at the forefront of all of our minds," Kiss said.
More security, responsible actions and cleaning up, is all it takes for this stadium to fully reopen the stadium hopefully by summer or spring.