Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith, seated left, talks with Volkswagen’s Hans-Herbert Jagla, executive vice president of human resources, following VW’s $50,000 contribution to the Public Education Foundation to support the Southeast Tennessee STEM Initiative.
CONFIRMED DONORSThe following organizations have pledged funds or supplies to support Hamilton County’s new STEM school:• Volkswagen• Unum• First Tennessee Bank• Franklin and Associates• Campbell & Associates• CBL & Associates• Ben O’Neal Co.• BASF Global• Excel Energy Group• Electronic Controls Inc.• Dependable Fire• ANS• American Society of Mechanical Engineers• WestinghouseSource: Hamilton County Schools
Evans Ayala works on a robot as Daejanae Williams, Gercara Robinson and Chanel Blackmon take a break during a STEM school summer camp at Chattanooga State Community College. The STEM school got a $50,000 infusion from VW on Monday. The school is a new institution that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math.Hamilton County School officials are hoping a $50,000 gift from Volkswagen will carry them through the home stretch of funding a new science, technology, engineering and math school, a process that has taken longer than they hoped.
Local business leaders pledged support when the county’s STEM school was announced in the spring, but actual funding has lagged, pushing the school board to borrow $500,000 from its capital projects fund to prepare the school in time for the 2012-13 year, which begins Aug. 13.
With VW’s gift added to other donations from local companies like Unum and First Tennessee Bank, the school system now needs about $150,000 to get it to its goal of having enough money to get STEM up and running, said schools Superintendent Rick Smith.
“We’re getting there,” Smith said Monday during a news conference to announce VW’s donation. “We’ll continue to fundraise. I expect we’ll be having some other announcements soon.”