Daineses Donate Another $1 Million Central Valley Schools Get Gift For High-Tech Upgrades

For the third time in little over a month, a Spokane businessman and his wife gave a $1 million gift to schools for technology improvements.

Bernard and Marsha Daines presented a ceremonial check to the Central Valley School District on Monday during the district’s school board meeting.

“Today’s is a more complex society,” said Bernard Daines, who graduated from Central Valley High School in 1962. “Our children really need a background in technology to get along.”

The Daines family gave $1 million each to Gonzaga University and Spokane School District 81 in early May.

And they’re not done.

Bernard Daines said they plan to give more gifts this year, although he would not say where or provide any other details. He said he and his wife are announcing the gifts publicly to encourage others to support the community.

Bernard Daines founded Packet Engines in 1994, which helped develop the Gigabit Ethernet technology. He now runs two new companies, World Wide Packets and Webiness.

“This is a gift that’s beyond words,” school board President Craig Holmes said as he shook Bernard Daines’ hand. “This is our future,” board member Kay Bryant added before the room erupted into a standing ovation.

Bernard Daines asked that part of the donation be used to buy computer equipment for the district’s two new high schools. The schools are in the planning phase of construction and are scheduled to be completed in 2002.

“I credit a lot of my success to the start I got here in the district, especially in high school,” he said.

Bernard Daines spoke of talented teachers whose personal experiences inspired him as he worked his way through school, earning free lunches and extra money by selling milk cartons, washing gym towels and watering lawns.

He later introduced his high school chemistry teacher, Mary Carrabba, whom he’d invited to the ceremony. “It’s because of teachers like her that we as former students can succeed,” he said. “I want to encourage the educators to keep looking for rough students like me and helping them out.”

Wally Stanley, Central Valley School District’s superintendent, said the district will focus on students when spending the $1 million, an amount equal to a full year’s budget. “We know the boys and girls are going to be the final beneficiaries of this generous gift,” he said.