Schools to Kick Off Fund-Raising Drive

The school board tonight will kick off a major fund-raising drive aimed at collecting $7 million to improve high-technology curricula in schools.

The district’s Foundation for the Future will target both corporations and individuals for contributions during a three-year campaign designed by a private fund-raising firm. The Irvine Co. already has agreed to donate $3 million, and Dimension Cable will give $700,000 in cash and equipment.

School board members said the campaign will provide the Irvine Unified School District with money and materials it cannot currently afford in an era of cost-cutting. The three goals of the fund-raising effort are to:

* Give students more hands-on experience with high-technology items like computers and give them the tools to successfully use the latest technology.

* Train teachers so that they can effectively provide high-technology instruction to students.

* Decide how to test students on the new high-tech skills they are taught.