Breakfast of Champions raises $491,727 for Mercer Island schools

Published 12:44 pm Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Over 500 friends and supporters of Mercer Island schools gathered at the Mercer Island High School gymnasium Tuesday, April 29, for the Mercer Island Schools Foundation’s annual Breakfast of Champions.

The event raised $491,727 toward the Schools Foundation’s spring goal of $1.2 million to retain classroom teachers and maintain present class sizes. At the elementary level, this means four teachers per school. At middle and high school, this means maintaining 20 class periods per day for both schools.

“Today’s event is a very impressive kickoff to the Bridge the Gap campaign,” said Schools Foundation Executive Director Penny Yantis. “We are thrilled with today’s results and look forward to receiving additional, generous donations in the weeks ahead. Thank you to all!” KING 5 News anchor and MIHS alumna Jean Enersen hosted the morning festivities. Schools Foundation board member Mark Eskridge challenged the attendees to “dig deep” to augment state and local funding for schools.

In his Bridge to the Future keynote speech, Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano said, “Even though Washington is ranked 41st in the country in per-pupil spending, your continued support through the Schools Foundation allows us to leverage our operating budget to enrich the educational programs offered to our students and to our staff.”