Newton County School District received the largest donation in the history of the school district. On December 15, 2017, Hartley Peavey, Peavey Electronics founder and CEO, donated the vacated Peavey Electronics plant to the district. The donation is valued at $3 million. The plant is located adjacent to the Newton County High School campus.
Hartley Peavey hopes his donation of the former Peavey Electronics manufacturing facility will benefit students like himself to dare to dream big. “My public education in Mississippi opened opportunities for me to explore my interest in electronics and woodworking,” said Peavey. “Those skills were crucial for building the amplifiers and sound systems that put my company on the map 52 years ago and led to creating thousands of jobs right here in Mississippi.”
Superintendent J.O. Amis is excited about the possibilities that the donation will provide for the future of Newton County students. “It will help us fulfill some dreams that I and our school board have had and will give us a whole lot of opportunity to enhance some classes that we already teach and perhaps some classes that we aren’t teaching,” Amis said. “I have some ideas, and I know the school board has some ideas, but until we go in and look at the building and see what those opportunities are, I would hesitate to say. It is a big building, and it has a lot of opportunities.”
“Innovation happens when students have the tools to pursue and achieve their dreams,” added Peavey. “The highest purpose of education in our society is to provide a vehicle for these young minds to discover their own talents, and to gain the skills needed to realize their potential. This facility will be an asset to Newton County Schools and students for many years to come.”