On Saturday, April 9, over 450 people attended the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Orono Alliance for Education at The Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley.
Preliminary totals from the event indicate that over $200,000 was raised for Orono Schools.
Themed “A Toast to Education,” the evening included hors d’oeuvres, silent and live auctions, music and dancing.
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In 2000, the Orono Alliance for Education was founded to maintain and improve the quality of education offered by Orono Public Schools in a time of decreased funding from the state. Because of its small size, the district is not eligible for many state and federal grants available to larger school districts. In fact, its $613 per student funding is less than the state average.
The Orono Alliance for Education raises money to provide the necessary funding to fill the district’s budget gaps and is a collaboration of parents, the school board and administration and members of the community.
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To date, over $3 million has been given to the Orono Schools by the Alliance.
Funds have been used to increase advanced placement classes, language offerings, accelerated math sections, professional development opportunities for teachers, as well as to maintain reasonable class sizes. At this year’s celebration, specific money was raised to support the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program at Orono.
To learn more about the Orono Alliance for Education, visit www.oronoalliance.org.
