FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – The Freehold Township K-8 School District Board of Education has accepted $85,850 worth of donations to benefit the district.
The donations were approved by the board on June 26. The total of $85,850 included $35,850 in donations for the 2017-18 school year, which ended on June 30, and $45,000 in donations for the 2018-19 school year, which began on July 1.
The $35,850 in donations for the 2017-18 school year were comprised of $23,100 from the Freehold Township Education Foundation for the STEAM 212 initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), which is intended to transform the media centers at the C. Richard Applegate School, the Joseph J. Catena School, the Laura Donovan School, the Marshall W. Errickson School and the West Freehold School into STEAM center maker spaces; $10,050 for the William J. Setaro Building Blocks of Innovation Grant winners, which funds educational projects; $2,500 to purchase playground equipment for the Catena school; and $200 for a portable keyboard for the Applegate school, according to district administrators.
The $45,000 worth of donations for the 2018-19 school year were comprised of $10,000 from the Eisenhower Middle School PTO to fund activities at the middle school; $10,000 from the Applegate PTO to fund activities at the school; and $25,000 from the West Freehold PTO to purchase technology for the students at the school.
According to district administrators, the activities that will be funded by the $10,000 donation from the Eisenhower PTO are Service Learning Club (all year), History Club (all year), Robotics Club (all year), STEAM Club (all year), Zumba Club (all year), PBS Ambassadors (all year), Forensics Science Club (all year), Table Tennis Club (fall only), Intramural Floor Hockey (fall only) and Intramural Basketball (fall only).
The activities that will be funded by the $10,000 donation from the Applegate PTO are the Garden Club, chorus, STEAM Club, intramurals, Exercise Club and Running Club. Each activity will take place during the entire school year.
