Report: Funding For Middle School Sports May Be Restored

By Kirsten Petersen

Middle school athletics in Prince George’s County Public Schools may be revived if Interim Superintendent Alvin Crawley’s additions to the 2014 budget are approved, The Gazette has reported.

The athletic programs were eliminated two years ago as part of severe budget cuts, the newspaper said. Restoring sports programs like soccer and lacrosse would cost the county $1.1 million, the Gazette reported.

After a series of cuts, reductions, and savings to the budget, Crawley added $24 million in expenditures that were not in his original budget, such as funding for full-time pre-kindergarten, additional bus drivers, additional reserves for union negotiations and the middle school athletics restoration, the Gazette reported.

School board members disagree on how the funds should be allocated. District 3 board member Peggy Higgins motioned to move the $1.1 million from middle school athletics to pre-kindergarten, but failed to get a second, the Gazette reported.

Read the full story on The Gazette.net

Tell us: How do you think the additional money should be allocated? Did you have a child who participated in middle school sports before they were cut, or a child in pre-kindergarten whose school could use the extra funds? How do you think middle school athletics will impact health and childhood obesity in the county?