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Ellen DeGeneres

Detroit school getting $500K via Ellen DeGeneres

Detroit Free Press
TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced more than $500,000 in donations Feb. 10, 2016, to Spain Elementary-Middle School in Detroit.

DETROIT — Ellen DeGeneres is funneling more than $500,000 in donations to a Detroit school — and no one there knew it was coming.

The students, staff and faculty of Spain Elementary-Middle School didn't know why they were called into an assembly Wednesday.

Then this happened:

Taping a segment for her show that will air Thursday, the TV talk show host announced the donations to the school and its staff, with more on the way. It almost sounded like a game-show giveaway:

  • A $100 gift card from Lowes for each teacher and staff member at the school.
  • $50,000 in technology from Lowes.
  • $200,000 worth of materials and labor to go toward a new roof.
  • A $250,000 donation to the school from Lowes.

Additionally, Justin Bieber announced that $1 from every ticket sold to his April 25 concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., will go to the school.

Finally, DeGeneres started a GoFundMe page for the school with a $5 million goal. GoFundMe itself kicked in $15,000 to start.

The show's website refers to this as "Ellen's biggest, most generous giveaway ever!"

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Patricia Hall, a music teacher at Spain Elementary-Middle School, had filed a complaint in October about conditions there with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In December, officials told her that they had contacted Detroit Public Schools officials, who promised to take care of the problems within 15 days, WXYZ-TV, Detroit, reported.

So state OSHA officials closed their investigation but never checked back to see whether the school system made the repairs.

In late January, the school was one of 11 public schools that City of Detroit code inspectors visited in response to mass teacher sick-outs. They found 16 violations that included rodents, mold, a leaking roof, warped floors in the gym from the roof problems, and a damaged heating system and have ordered them to be fixed by the end of this month.

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The Ellen DeGeneres Show reached out in January to Detroit Public Schools after hearing about all the repair and maintenance issues at Spain, schools spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said.

Donations from the show, Lowes and Bieber, as well as money raised from the GoFundMe page, will be directed to a new capital improvement fund that the district has set up with the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, she said.

"The funds will be restricted for use with Spain projects," Zdrodowski said.

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he boost to the school comes at a time of great need, said WaSeana Ballard, a Spain teacher for eight years. Even though it's a performing arts school, Spain no longer has drama or band classes because of budget cuts.

"We were excited and in tears," she said. "This is such a blessing."

Follow the Detroit Free Press on Twitter: @freep 

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