MORGAN PARK — Morgan Park High School students, alumni and fans looking to show their Mustang spirit need to go no farther than the nearest Target store, but at least one school official would prefer people buy the items directly from the school.
The Target at 11840 S. Marshfield Ave. in Morgan Park began stocking T-shirts and shorts featuring the school's colors and logo this month, according to Lee Henderson, a spokesman for the Minneapolis-based retailer.
"Like our guests, our stores like to be a part of the local school spirit," Henderson said via email Tuesday.
The school receives a portion of the sales based on volume, according to Henderson, who declined to talk about the specifics of the deal. A call to Morgan Park High School Principal Carolyn Epps was not returned.
But Local School Council Chairwoman Carisa Parker said the school receives about 8 percent of all sales made at Target via an agreement arranged by a third-party vendor. Henderson said Target has similar agreements with nearly 1,500 schools nationwide.
"Many alumni are flocking to the store to buy gear, when they could be purchasing from the school where we would make much more of a profit," Parker said Thursday morning.
She said the school was working to set up an online store and expected it to debut on the school's website soon. Parker hopes Morgan Park's fan base will be patient and buy its gear there instead.
"Right now, Target is a competitor," said Parker, who graduated from Morgan Park in 1992. Her daughter, Carinne, will be senior in the fall, and her son, Christopher, graduated last year.
Meanwhile, the Target spokesman said its school partnership program had been in place for several years and 1,100 of the chain's 1,792 stores in the United States participate.
A visit to the store on Wednesday found the Morgan Park garb hanging beside White Sox, Cubs and Blackhawks gear. Two styles of Morgan Park T-shirts are available for $17.99 and $19.99 each as well as two styles of shorts both costing $17.99.
Parker said she was happy to partner with Target. But rather than working as a competitor, she'd prefer the retailer help out financially by backing various programs at the school which — like other Chicago Public Schools — is staring down massive budget cuts as a result of a state budget stalemate.
"If Target has such school spirit, why haven't they reached out to the school to sponsor activities or teams?" she said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
