IRVINE : Schools Start Drive to Collect $10 Million

The Irvine Unified School District has embarked on an ambitious fund-raising drive aimed at collecting $10 million over three years.

The school board this month voted to pay the Sharp Co. $500,000 to help the district plan and execute the drive, which is set to get underway in 1994.

The district’s Foundation for the Future will solicit donations from parents as well as major corporations and business leaders.

More than just money will be sought. The district hopes to tap the resources of Irvine’s many high-technology companies, encouraging them to donate computers, printers and other equipment to schools.

“This is more than a phone-a-thon,” said school board member Margie Wakeham. “There is a lot more that needs to be done. We’ve had to develop a (strategy). I am looking forward to it. I think we are going to get a lot out of” the drive.

Already, the Irvine Co. has pledged as much as $3 million to the effort. Dimension Cable will provide $700,000 in both cash and equipment.

The district hopes to collect millions of dollars more in 1994 from community leaders and other “major donors.” Parents will be among those targeted for donations in 1995.

A central goal of the drive is to bring more computer technology into classrooms. Most of the assets collected will go toward getting computer equipment.