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Sauganash Elementary Gets Its $1.2 Million 'Field Of Dreams'

By Heather Cherone | September 6, 2016 5:23am
 the first multi-use artificial turf playing field on the Far Northwest Side will be built at the school, 6040 N. Kilpatrick Ave.
the first multi-use artificial turf playing field on the Far Northwest Side will be built at the school, 6040 N. Kilpatrick Ave.
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Sauganash Athletics

SAUGANASH — Sauganash Elementary School students will no longer have recess or gym class on a barren, dusty — or after a rainstorm, muddy — field.

Instead, the first multi-use artificial turf playing field on the Far Northwest Side will be built at the school, 6040 N. Kilpatrick Ave., Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced.

The $1.2 million turf field is expected to be complete by the start of school in fall 2017. The project will include a walking path around the perimeter of the school as well as a 23,000-square-foot field, officials said.

Emanuel announced that plans for the field would move forward at an event not listed on his public schedule but at a meeting Thursday "with parents and members of the community," mayoral spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said.

The announcement was the result of efforts by Ald. Margaret Laurino (39th) and "the school community" who have been working to replace the field for some time, as the existing grassy area around the school regularly floods, Huffman said.

The field will be open to the entire community, not just students at the school, Laurino said.

The mayor was a "great advocate" at City Hall for the year-long effort to build the field, Laurino said.

The school's athletic department called the project a "field of dreams."

Sauganash Athletics

Sauganash Principal Christine Munns declined Friday to answer questions about the field without the permission from the CPS communications office.

Huffman declined to answer a question about why members of the news media were not informed of the announcement and the mayor's appearance.

Several recent mayoral announcements about school improvement efforts have taken place behind closed doors and revealed only to a select few officials and Local School Council members.

When school officials announced plans to build an addition to Skinner West Elementary School in the West Loop, reporters were barred from the meeting. Similarly, the news that eight new classrooms would be built at Bridge Elementary School in Dunning was announced at a meeting that members of the news media were not invited to and was not listed on the school's website.

"Throughout the summer, the mayor has met with parents from across the city to address the needs at their schools — whether it’s capital or academic investments — all in the name of ensuring each of our children are learning in modern classrooms and earning the high-quality education they deserve,” Huffman said.

A $10.5 million annex opened at Sauganash Elementary in 2012 to relieve overcrowding.

Plans for Sauganash's turf field were included on a "secret" list of CPS construction projects first reported by WBEZ, although its price tag was listed as $1 million.

Other Northwest Side projects included on the same "site/target improvement" list as the Sauganash field are science classrooms, windows and bleachers at Von Steuben High School in Albany Park, estimated to cost $4 million; $3.5 million for a turf field at Taft High School; and $200,000 for new auditorium seats at Belding Elementary School.

In addition, Mary Lyon Elementary School in Belmont Cragin needs a new roof, estimated to cost $11 million.

Huffman did not respond to questions about why school and city officials chose to fund the field project at Sauganash over other projects.

Nearly half of all public elementary and high schools on the Far Northwest Side are overcrowded, according to a report released in July by CPS officials.

The Chicago Board of Education recently approved plans to borrow $945 million to pay for mostly unspecified construction projects, including efforts to relieve overcrowding.

CPS officials plan to release a "supplemental capital budget in the fall" that will detail how those funds will be spent, CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said.

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