The football game between an El Paso high school and the suburban Dallas school where the suspect in the El Paso mass shooting attended has been been rescheduled, after being canceled earlier this week.
The Plano ISD announced on Friday that the district had agreed to play the game against Eastwood High School at The Star in Frisco. The district said The Star offers the level of security that Plano ISD feels the unique situation warrants.
The location was made possible after the superintendent of the Frisco ISD called Plano ISD to offer the location. The game will be moved up one day, to fit into the schedule at The Star, being played on September 5.
Plano school district officials said Thursday they canceled the game that was scheduled Sept. 6 against El Paso's Eastwood High in Plano.
A Plano school district statement said administrators felt obligated to act out of concern for the safety of players, students, families and communities. Superintendent Sara Bonser said "what should be a celebratory event would be encumbered by safety concerns for the participants and fans of both teams."
The decision ingnited frustration and anger among many Plano Senior High students and parents.
"They (football players) were blindsided," Jennifer Davis, whose son is a football player said. "I'm embarrassed by the decision."
Davis started a Gofundme aimed at helping victims of the shooting that has so far raised over $1300. Lily Ray, a Plano Senior High Senior also started a petition asking that the game be reinstated, which garnered over 500-signatures.
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"Her idea was we just want to get to play," her mother Allison Ray said.
Plano ISD reached out to Ysleta ISD to issue a joint statement, but Ysleta ISD declined and said they didn't want the game canceled. Plano ISD declined both invitations from Ysleta to play in El Paso or at a neutral site.
"We are not on the same page," said Ysleta ISD Trustee Kathryn Lucero. "We believe that it's important for our communities to heal. We've been through a lot. El Paso, our community, was a victim here of terrorism and we need to heal. El Paso needs to heal, Texas needs to heal and this is the perfect opportunity to let our kids play football."
A Plano police spokesman didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. However, police spokesman David Tilley told The Dallas Morning News that no credible threat had been made against the event.
The two schools had faced each other for the first time last year. Plano ISD says Plano Senior High will continue efforts to raise support for El Paso.
The Eastwood campus is about three miles from the Walmart where 22 people were killed and many others were injured Aug. 3. El Paso police say Plano Senior High School alumnus Patrick Crusius has confessed to the massacre.
