North Dakota Students Fund Construction With Pennies

POWERS LAKE, N.D. (AP) — When efforts to fund a $7.5 million school construction project in Powers Lake fell $1 million short, students turned to their piggy banks.

In six days, the 105 elementary school students in the northwestern North Dakota town raised nearly $1,200 in pennies and other coins. That is an average of more than 1,100 pennies per student.

Superintendent Marlyn Vatne tells the Minot Daily News the money won't be enough — but the effort made the students feel a part of the project.

The planned classroom addition and new cafeteria at the high school is being funded through loans, a state grant, a bond issue passed by voters and donations. The district has set up a fundraising fund through the North Dakota School Foundation to try to reach the goal.