UPTOWN — Because of funding cuts, Mary E. Courtenay Elementary School will not have interscholastic sports next school year.
Some teachers were disappointed to find out that there is no room in the budget.
"It's going to be rough," said Anitha Singleton, who teaches middle schoolers at Courtenay, 4420 N. Beacon St. "[Students] release energy in a positive way and build character when they play sports," she said
During and after a Local School Council meeting held in the cafeteria of the school Thursday afternoon, teachers and parents called the loss of sports everything from "ridiculous" to a "downer."
"Our children need a bridge between school and home where they have mentors. They say they want wellness at schools and yet they neglect school programs," said teacher Claudia Pesenti, adding that positive afterschool activities like sports keep "kids off the street."
Despite a projected gain of four students, the Uptown school will lose a total of $73,699 next school year, a 2.51 percent decrease, according to data released by Chicago Public Schools. That number actually includes a $57,666 increase of for "core instruction," but a $131,365 decrease for activities outside the classroom, according to the data.
The school district's financial support for sports had winnowed to almost nothing in recent years. Now, thanks to the cuts, school principal Macquline King said there is no room in the budget for interscholastic sports in the 2015-16 school year.
However, King said she wants to allocate some money toward intramural sports and potentially partner with other neighborhood schools, like Ravenswood Elementary School, 4332 N. Paulina St.
After the meeting, teacher Pamela Black worried that other neighborhood schools would be similarly impacted.
Other teachers expressed optimism, saying King's solutions seemed viable.
"I'm hoping we're going to work it out with other groups in the community," Singleton said.
Sports aside, the school will lose five teachers and a security officer as a result of the cuts. King said she did her "very best to minimize the damage to the classrooms."
The principal added that she didn't understand how the school could get less money under the district's student-based budget system since it is expected to get four more students.
King said she is planning to petition the district for more money.
Farther north in Andersonville, Pierce Elementary International Studies School, 1423 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., is also looking for ways to fund some of its clubs and activities, including art, field trips, debate and ceramics thanks to budget cuts.
"There are a lot of internal partnerships and those cost money, and they're not allocated in here," newly hired principal Lori Zaimi said at a Local School Council meeting Thursday evening, referring to the budget for the coming school year.
Zaimi said she hopes to fill the gaps in the budget with help from Friends of Pierce, a community advocacy group.
According to Chicago Public Schools data, Pierce will open its doors next year with $141,888 less than last year, a 2.41 percent loss. That's despite an expected slight uptick in the number of students at the school.
Across the city, neighborhood schools are seeing almost $60 million in cuts district wide, while charter schools and other charter programs for at-risk students are seeing a combined $30 million in gains.
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