Over 200 kids in Enfield are going without school sports this school year after last year’s budget cut got rid of the sports programs.

“It wasn’t that much a surprise, but really disappointing,” JFK Middle School Principal Sarah Brown said. “Academics are very important, but those other pieces that they get while they’re a student here are just as important.”

Both middle school and freshmen sports program were eliminated in Enfield, but the superintendent said they’ll be back next year.

“All funding that is necessary for middle school sports and freshmen sports to be back next year has been placed in the budget,” Enfield Public Schools Superintendent Steven Moccio said.

This comes after members of the community launched a GoFundMe campaign to brings back the sports programs. The page has now raised over $162,000, which is enough to fund the sports programs.

“The four guys that put it together did a wonderful job starting it, helping raise it. It’s amazing,” JFK Middle School’s boys’ soccer coach Carmen Nuccio said.

He said his kids were bummed when the sports first were cut, but now they’re excited that they’ll be back.

“No matter if it’s girls, boys, soccer, basketball,” Nuccio said. “We have field hockey. The excitement is there. Baseball, softball, the excitement is there.”

Moccio said this money means that sports will be back in Enfield for next school year, but in the future, he has plan to make the schools less reliant on fundraising.

The school budget is expected to be approved at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night, but once approved, it will move on to the town council.