OBSERVER Photo by Natasha Matteliano An incident in which parents reportedly paid to use the football field in Dunkirk was discussed this week by the Dunkirk City School Board.

Parents and students were caught paying to play football on the turf field on Dunkirk School property, it was revealed at the Dunkirk City School board meeting.

On Friday, a parent was found to have been charging students and other teens to play a game of football on the turf field. “It was a group of people not social distancing, they had no permit to be there,” school Superintendent Michael Mansfield said. “There were several teens paying to play football. … It was organized by a parent and we don’t know why they were charging money. There were no coaches there at the time.”

The staff member who saw the incident asked the group to leave, but was met with resistance. The group was neither social distancing nor wearing masks. The staff member had to call the Dunkirk Police Department, which came to the field and dispersed the group.

The board explained that this behavior is unacceptable for many reasons, including the lack of a building use permit and no proof of insurance. The district noted it has always welcomed residents and taxpayers to use their facilities and many do use them and follow the rules. The board does not want to punish them for doing what’s right, but has to think about what is best for the school and the taxpayers.

“Do we have to lock the facility?” Mansfield asked. “We would hate to because there are law-abiding citizens who use the grounds appropriately to walk the track and work out.”

The verdict for now is to monitor the situation and allow the police department to keep track of the field. There will also be a letter sent to the parent that was charging money to let the kids play.