Dollar-Thrifty giving money to NE Oklahoma schools

After years of budget cuts, many Oklahoma schools are still operating on shoe-string budgets. <br><br>One Tulsa company is giving back and helping schools fill the funding gaps. News on 6 anchor Scott

Monday, March 29th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

After years of budget cuts, many Oklahoma schools are still operating on shoe-string budgets.

One Tulsa company is giving back and helping schools fill the funding gaps. News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson has more on Dollar-Thrifty's educational grant program.

Dollar-Thrifty announced Monday they've given away more than $100,000 worth of grants to Oklahoma schools. The company's contribution is making school projects and field trips a reality for cash-strapped schools. Some Marquette 2nd-graders are just some of the students Dollar-Thrifty is helping.

A $400 grant paid for two 2nd-grade classes and a group of parents to visit the Oklahoma Aquarium. It's a trip, Marquette teachers say wouldn't have happened without the Dollar-Thrifty grant.

In a ceremony Monday, Dollar-Thrifty continued to hand out cash to area teachers. The company gave away almost $50,000 to 100 teachers just this year. All teachers who have the child of a Dollar-Thrifty employee in their classroom are eligible for a grant worth up to $500. Teachers have used the money for everything from field trips to get kids out of the classroom, to teaching tools to better engage them in the classroom.

David Sparkman, Dollar-Thrifty Executive VP of Finance: "The different things that teachers are doing its incredible for the kids who get that kind of exposure so we're very excited to help the children of our employees and the children of northeast Oklahoma."

Dollar-Thrifty estimates 19,000 students have benefited from the program.