Gala Raises $220,000 for School District

GALA FUND-RAISER: About 850 Palos Verdes Peninsula residents donned evening gowns and tuxedos Saturday night for an annual dinner and auction that has become one of the largest private fund-raisers for public education in the state.

Educational supporters paid $100 each to attend the Peninsula Education Foundation’s Main Event XI, which raises money for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. The affair,

which included dancing and auctions offering everything from a laptop computer to a diamond and pearl bracelet, raised more than $220,000 for the district.

In one auction, the winners of a European vacation for two donated the item back to the foundation, which auctioned it to another couple for $4,200.

“It was fabulous,” said Marlene Young, the foundation trustee who chaired the event. “We were just blown away. We could not believe, in this economy, people were spending the kind of money they were to support the schools.”

Guests, who dined on baron of beef in brandied peppercorn sauce, filet of salmon Florentine with sherry cream sauce and a crepe dessert filled with chocolate mousse and raspberry sauce, danced until well past midnight, Young said.

The Main Event, held in three huge tents erected on Long Point, the former Marineland site, raises almost half of the foundation’s total annual gift to the school district. The money pays for computer aides, library aides, teacher aides and high school career counselors.

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JUMPING FOR HEALTH: Students, teachers and administrators at Tulita Elementary School in Redondo Beach jumped rope Friday to promote physical fitness after raising money for the American Heart Assn.

The jumpers each spent more than an hour visiting jump-rope stations set up around the playground, where they tried their footwork on everything from double Dutch to obstacle course jump-roping.

“It was wonderful; we all were out there,” said Principal Fred Marsee, who said he jumped long enough to “work up a sweat.”

In the two weeks leading up to the event, students collected more than $2,200 in donations for the American Heart Assn., which rewarded them with prizes including jump ropes, Frisbees and water bottles.

“Jump Rope for Heart” is a national campaign by the American Heart Assn. that raises money for local community education programs and research funding. *

ADMINISTRATOR HONORED: Kenneth L. Moffett, superintendent of the Lennox School District, has received the Marcus Foster Memorial Award, one of the most prestigious awards bestowed by the Assn. of California School Administrators.

The award, created in honor of the slain Oakland Unified School District superintendent, recognizes school administrators who have demonstrated excellence and leadership throughout their careers. It carries a cash award of $500.

“The primary criteria are that the individual is an advocate for change, is focused on equal education opportunities for all students and involves the community in the educational process,” said Tom DeLapp, a spokesman for the organization. Moffett has been the district’s top administrator since 1976. He left in 1986 to serve as superintendent for the ABC Unified School District in Cerritos, but returned to Lennox two years later.

Saying he was both shocked and pleased by the award, Moffett said he will use the money to create an annual award for the outstanding middle school student who has made the most progress in English.

The Lennox School District serves more than 5,700 elementary-grade students in six schools. Nearly 94% of its students speak little or no English when they enroll.

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