In which Mr. Answer Person is taken to task for a wrong answer

The shaded property belongs to the City of Decorah, the property directly to the east belongs to the Decorah School District

(Editor's note: Recently Mr. Answer Person was asked a question about the right of the Decorah School District to charge admission to football games to people who sit on the dike:

Laura e-mails Mr. Answer Person: "How is it possible for the Decorah High School to charge spectators admission to view the football games from the dike behind the football stadium?  Is the dike on city property or on school property?"
 
(Mr. Answer Person replied: "The dike is on city-owned property.  In fact, one-third of the football field, two-thirds of the baseball field and all of the softball field are on city-owned property."

Now, thanks to a sharp-eyed reader, Mr. Answer Person has learned the dike property actually belongs to the Decorah School District.  He apologizes for this error.

However, Mr. Answer Person WAS correct is stating two-thirds of the baseball field and all of the softball field are on city-owned property.  So his earlier comments still stand:

But let's add two more reasons why the school district ought to be allowed to charge people money.  First, you should consider the charge to be the cost of viewing the football game, which is a school district function, not the cost of sitting on a dike.  Secondly, the money charged by the school district is used to defray the costs of having a football program.  In other words, if the school district didn't charge $4 or $5 for a ticket to see football games, it would either have to increase property taxes to cover the lost revenue or it would have to cancel the football program.  Neither choice seems as good as charging $4 or $5 to watch the game.