This week, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced that she’d given just under $2 billion over the last seven months to hundreds of organizations, including a number of public school districts. This kind of unrestricted donation is unusual for public schools — the districts can do whatever they want with the funds.
When superintendent Bob Nelson learned his school district in Fresno, California would be receiving a $20 million gift, no strings attached, he thought it was a scam at first.
“And then you find out wow, this is real,” Nelson said. “And not only is it real, but dear God, like one moment, we had like, $1,200 in this account, and then we had like, $20,001,200.”
Nelson wants that money from MacKenzie Scott to grow, he’s investing the funds in the district’s foundation to create college scholarships and workforce training for students. Nelson also says that the money is also a gift of confidence.
“Like we are perceived as the armpit of California,” he said. “So to have somebody outside, say, hey, we think what you’re doing is really good. In fact, we’re going to give $20 million….like that was like life-giving water for the valley, quite frankly.”
Meanwhile, in South Dakota, White River School District 47-1 received a $1.5 million dollar gift. 90 percent of students there are Native American and some commute long distances.
Many of them play sports so practices are staggered and can run…
