Education Foundation Reaches $8 Million Goal for New High School
News from Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kay Brookshire, 865-483-4644, or Lila Metcalf, 865-241-3667
Thanks to the Oak Ridge community's commitment to education, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation has reached its goal of $8 million to support the renovation and rebuilding of Oak Ridge High School.
Pat Postma, chair of the fund drive, announced today at the East Tennessee Economic Council meeting that the Education Foundation has met its goal.
"We set out to raise $8 million for the high school and $4 million for the ongoing endowment fund, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am that we have achieved our first goal for building the school," said Postma, retired Dean for Executive Education at the University of Tennessee College of Business.
"So a special thanks goes to BWXT Y-12, which increased its pledge last week by $100,000 to get us within $12,000 of our goal. And thanks, also, to Blaine Construction, which immediately stepped up and offered to put us over the top with a $25,000 contribution," Postma said. Blaine Construction Corporation, a general contractor with headquarters in Knoxville, presented its check of $25,000 to Postma this morning for the Education Foundation.
Postma said other important gifts leading up to the goal came from The Oak Ridger, which pledged $5,000, and from Messer Construction, of Knoxville, and Heery International, a Nashville engineering firm, both working on the new high school.
"I would also like to thank The Oak Ridger for the support it has given us in many ways during this campaign," Postma said.
The drive to raise private funds to support the high school rebuilding began in the fall of 2004, when the contractors involved in operating Department of Energy facilities here pledged $5 million to kick off the campaign. The next phase of the campaign began in March 2005, when the business community was invited to contribute, followed by a community campaign that began last summer when families and individuals were asked to participate.
The Education Foundation has received contributions and pledges from 930 donors, including five donors in the Visionary category of $500,000 and above and 476 donors in the Community Builders category, giving up to $2,499 each.
"Having reached our goal on the high school project, just as construction is about to kick into high gear, we can now shift our focus to building an endowment that will support educational programs across the school system," said Thom Mason, who chairs the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation board.
"A new building is an important prerequisite for first-class education, but it is what goes on inside the building, more than the brick and mortar, that will really impact the student experience," added Mason, associate director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Spallation Neutron Source. "We are gratified by the broad community support for the high school and the Education Foundation and look forward to working with the community to develop a vision for ongoing programs that will further strengthen the Oak Ridge schools."
The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2000, will now focus its efforts on its second goal: raising $4 million for an ongoing endowment for Oak Ridge Public Schools. The foundation, providing funds beyond public tax dollars for education, raises funds through grants and private donations to invest in enhanced educational programming, innovative technology, and state-of-the-art facilities for teachers and students. For more information about making a donation to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, call the foundation office at 865-241-3667 or see the foundation's web site at www.orpsef.org.