Kansas high school in need recieves $5M donation from former graduate’s estate


The estate of a woman who died last year has donated $5 million to her former high school in a poor Kansas neighborhood.

The Topeka Public Schools Foundation announced the gift Tuesday from the estate of Susan Guffey, a former graduate. The money won’t be used to build something in her honor, but rather will support students and programs at Highland Park High School, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Among those who might benefit are students who had to participate in bake sales and other fundraisers in the past to pay for things like out-of-state trips, said Pamela Johnson-Betts, the foundation’s executive director.

“We now are going to be able to say to those students and staff: ‘Come to us. We have a pot of money that will make sure that the students we serve are going to be able to take every opportunity they want,’” she said.

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A high school in a poor Kansas neighborhood has been given a $5 million donation from a graduate’s estate.  (Fox News)

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Guffey spent her later years in the Seattle area, where she often contributed to programs, while favoring anonymity.

Former principal Dale Cushinberry recalled that he met her more than a decade as she toured the school. When she asked how she could help, he said the school had a goal of having every student read three modern novels. Cushinberry said the problem was that the school didn’t have three modern novels.

The next week, he had a check to meet that need, and then some. Other gifts followed, one for $200,000. But her last is the largest in the Topeka school district’s history.

“I think it’s because of where she grew up, and I would say that, for many of us who grew up on the east side of town, there’s a desire to prove ourselves,” Johnson-Betts said. “A lot of times, people think that because you live in a certain ZIP code, you’re not as worthy as others.”



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