Raising funds for school

By Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald

The Sumner/Bonney Lake Education Foundation is in the process of raising money for a scholarship fund for Bonney Lake High School.

The executive director of the foundation, John Doan, stated the foundation has raised $200,000 toward the initial endowment goal of $300,000.

"The foundation is three years old," Doan said. "We give out scholarships and provide enrichments for programs the school can't afford, like arts funds, field trips and artist in residence."

The foundation has given out $45,000 in scholarships in the first three years according to Doan.

"With the new high school opening in Bonney Lake, we are trying to see how we can help," Doan said. "Sumner High School has a 100-year head start. We think this is an opportunity to help kick off the new school with a scholarship fund."

The Foundation is working with the Bonney Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis to set up scholarships for the first graduating class in 2007.

The school is to open in the fall of 2005. There will be no seniors at the school the first year, only sophomores and juniors. The Sumner School District decided transferring seniors during their last year of high school would be too disruptive.

The Chamber of Commerce has been giving scholarships out to students in the Bonney Lake area for since 1997 and the Kiwanis are looking into setting up a scholarship fund.

"We want to work with anyone interested in helping set up these scholarships," Doan said. "We're a small group the more people we can bring in the better."

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