PW-S school foundation gets big boost from tech giants

Just a week after being revived, the PWSSD Foundation has received a $225,000 donation to further its mission of providing funding for educational programs in the Port Washington-Saukville School District from the company building a massive data center complex in Port Washington and the two tech giants who will operate it.

Vantage Data Centers, which owns the 672-acre Lighthouse Campus being built on the city’s far north side, and OpenAI and Oracle, which will run the $15 billion complex after it is completed in 2028, announced Monday they will each donate $75,000 to the foundation.

“This is a huge moment in the foundation’s startup,” Supt. Michael McMahon told the School Board Monday.

Both McMahon and Kevin Chandler, Vantage’s director of state and local policy, referred to the donation as the start of an ongoing relationship between the data center companies, the foundation and School District.

“We view supporting public education in communities where we operate a key part of our community investment and really hope this is the start of a long-term partnership,” Chandler, a Port Washington resident, said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with the foundation and district leadership to make this donation, and we’re grateful to our project partners.”

Foundation President Andrea Marquard praised companies new to the city and School District for realizing the importance of supporting local education.

“It’s pretty special to see newer businesses in our community step up and invest in our schools like this,” she said. “We’re really grateful to have them as our partners.”

Founded in 2016, the PWSSD Foundation was initially focused on raising money for improvements to the outdoor athletic facilities at Port Washington High School, but for years it has been dormant.

It was revived last week with the election of new officers and a fresh focus on awarding grants to teachers for classroom programs and projects that are not funded by the district. The foundation plans to award its first grants ahead of next school year, Marquard said.

Although the foundation’s mission is to support the School District, it is a separate entity that alone will determine how funds are raised and distributed. And as a nonprofit organization, it can provide tax deductions for donors.

It is one of two foundations that benefit district students. The Community Education Foundation of Port Washington-Saukville awards scholarships to Port Washington High School seniors and alumni attending college.

Even before the donations from Vantage, OpenAI and Oracle, McMahon noted, the PWSSD Foundation had the advantage of restarting its work with money in its coffers thanks to a 2020 donation from Port Washington State Bank

The bank gave $100,000 to the foundation for the creation of the Port Washington State Bank Upper Deck, a lounge-like area in the high school commons overlooking the arena-style gym. About $30,000 of that donation remains in the foundation’s account and can be used for teacher grants, McMahon said.

“Port Washington State Bank has been a huge supporter of our district and really sparked the foundation,” he said.

Now with the $225,000 donation, McMahon said, the foundation is a step closer to being a sustainable nonprofit organization that one day may be able to invest its principle and draw only on the interest it earns to award grants.

The organization was, he said, a missing component of the district’s approach to funding educational opportunities it could not otherwise afford, one that other school districts rely on to provide innovative programs that not only benefit students but make their schools stand out in an era of open enrollment.

“One thing we saw as a missing piece of our district is this foundation and how it can put dollars in teachers’ hands to enhance student learning,” McMahon said.

Referring to the district’s relationship with Vantage, OpenAI and Oracle, he said, “We’re excited about this partnership and thinking about opportunities for kids.”

For OpenAI, its donation is an investment in a future “Intelligence Age” workforce, Chris Lehane, the company’s chief global affairs officer, said.

“At OpenAI, we believe helping students build the skills to thrive in the Intelligence Age starts with strong local schools and expanded access to great learning opportunities,” Lehane said. “The Port Washington-Saukville community is investing in its future, and we’re proud to support educators and students as they prepare for the jobs, industries and opportunities of tomorrow.”