Schools Foundation Breakfast raises $410,000

Total amount raised down $80,000 from last year’s event.

Over 400 supporters of Mercer Island schools turned out for the Schools Foundation’s annual Breakfast of Champions fundraiser Tuesday, April 28 at Mercer Island High School.

The event raised $410,000 toward its $1.2 million goal for its 2015 spring campaign, its lowest total in several years. Though MISF Executive Director Penny Yantis said the Foundation only targets to fundraise as much as the breakfast can bring in.

“It was a fabulous program,” Yantis said. “I think the value of the event is that it truly showcases the best our schools have to offer. It’s something I wish every parent in the community could see.”

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Geared toward maintaining smaller class sizes as well as providing funding for school staff, the event was hosted by KING 5 news anchor and MIHS alumna Jean Enerson and featured a keynote speech from Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano, which touched on the state-funding shortfalls the school district has experienced under the McCleary decision. Plano noted Mercer Island’s low ranking for state and federal funds: 282nd out of 295 Washington school districts.

“Our students live in a thinking world, flooded with instantaneous facts and figures, that demand higher cognitive levels of analysis and processing, and to use their instant access of information to find solutions demanded by the world in which we live,” Plano said. “You and I didn’t do that at 8 or 12 or 16. Today’s education requires more funding than was available to us, and not less.”

The Schools Foundation awarded MIHS senior Leah Fisk its $1500 scholarship, the first of its kind. Fisk shared her story of being diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder, a clinical disability which includes dyslexia, which contributed to her struggles with reading and math. Seeking alternative instruction options, Fisk was able to enroll in a foundation-supported audio book program, a series of audiobooks that complemented text and reading materials for nearly all MIHS core subjects.

“The program has helped to take me from barely surviving as a student to excelling as a proud member of National Honor Society,” Fisk said. “I cannot express how thankful I am to the foundation for having the foresight to support this program.”

The Schools Foundation will continue its fundraising efforts through June 1, with each Mercer Island school holding its own individual event.

“The PTAs are trying to build awareness and educate the parent community about the real needs around funding and what it takes to keep our schools on top and make them the best that they can be,” Yantis said.

“It’s never too late to give their gift online. It’s not over yet.”

To find out more or to give, visit www.mercerislandschoolsfoundation.com.