ALTON, Ill. — Fights in one Illinois school district are leading to restrictions at a home football game on Friday. One parent told 5 On Your side this problem isn't anything new.
Alton High School students learned remotely on Friday as district officials cracked down on who could attend the home football game. The crackdown comes after a series of fights broke out at the school Wednesday.
According to the Alton Athletics Department, no outside fans were allowed to Friday's football game. Only immediate family members of players, the cheer team and the marching band could watch from the stands.
This is an upsetting situation for everyone involved and many want to see change happen.
Bobby Rickman, Alton Education Association president, said it's heartbreaking this happened in his district, especially so early on in the school year.
"It's kind of tough to see your students going through this and staff going through this. It's bad timing, but hopefully we can grow from this and improve things for our kids," he said.
The Alton High School parking lot was unusually empty for a Friday as students learned remotely. It was one day after classes were completely canceled, according to Rickman.
"It was just one of those things that kind of spiraled out of control and it was a tough situation, but we're hoping to put that behind us," he said.
The Alton School District said administrators, staff and law enforcement responded immediately. No students were seriously injured due to the fight and no weapons were involved.
According to Rickman, every teacher just wants to help the students.
"I think it points to a bigger problem that we have that a lot of students are dealing with a lot of problems. We've got to make sure that we've got people to listen to their voices, and figure out what's going on, and how they can work through these issues, so it doesn't result in acts like we had on Wednesday," he said.
That's why Rickman and others with the Alton Education Association are calling on safer schools so students know they are loved and cared about.
For Alton High School parent, Sarah Rose, this isn't anything new.
"Over the course of like 10 to 11 years that my kids have been in the middle school or the high school, I haven't seen any change," she said.
In fact, according to Rose, the situation has only gotten progressively worse.
"In asking the kids about their day, not just daily, but weekly, it's like how was your day? How were classes? Did anybody get any new fights? It's been that way since my oldest has been at the high school, you know, ten years ago," she said.
Rose said she understands the district is trying to avoid the escalation of violence at Friday night's football game, but she's upset it's come down to this.
"It's kind of removing that high school experience for our kids. It's just really sad," she said.
The concerned mom said she wants the district to be proactive instead of reactive.
"We all just want to know what is going to be the solution, both the short-term and the long-term," she said.
The Alton Education Association rallied before Friday night's football game. Teachers, parents and students wore red to call for safer schools for everyone.
Dr. Kristie Baumgartner, Alton superintendent, sent 5 On Your Side this statement:
“The events yesterday were absolutely unacceptable. They are senseless and embarrassing for our students, staff, school and community. We are continuing our investigation to identify all students responsible and administer serious school consequences. The motivation behind these events remains unclear but all of the students involved were known to each other. We would like to express that the vast majority of our students at Alton High are respectful, kind and follow school rules. We deeply regret that these senseless events, caused by a small group of students, disrupted the school environment to such a high degree."
According to the district, administrators are putting additional safety and security measures in place for next week.
Rose told 5 On Your Side in an automated message from the school she received Friday that there will be another remote day on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The message also announced that metal detectors will be installed next week.