What would you do with $733,000?

For the Davis Schools Foundation, this is enough money to fund 10 teacher positions and one-and-a-half librarian positions. The funds will go toward elementary school high school teachers. As of Monday, the foundation had raised $733,000 with the help of Hanlees Auto Group.

Hanlees Auto Group in Davis made a $30,000 donation Apr. 16and challenged the community to match that amount over the course of five days. On Apr. 20, the last day of the challenge, the community surpassed that amount with $142,000 - $17,000 of which was raised at an entertainment event at Hanlees on that day alone.

Located on Chiles Road, Hanlees Auto Group began business in 1993 and now includes Toyota, Chevy, Nissan and Ford stores. In the past, the company donated a Nissan Altima vehicle to the UC Davis Athletics department.

“The community has a huge responsibility for the schools,” said John Park, Scion manager. “We are teaching young kids good education so they can succeed in society. If we have a bad school system or bad instructors teaching them, or if the system failed, our society will fail as well.”

In the coming days, Hanlees will be announcing details of the Percentage of Purchase campaign. A percentage of each vehicle or car accessory purchase by identified DSF supporters will be set aside for the foundation. Don Lee, Hanlees president, expects to raise $5,000 to $10,000 per month with this program.

The foundation, however, still has its goal of $3.08 million in sight.

These donations are part of the Dollar-a-Day campaign. In response to statewide and local budget cuts, the nonprofit DSF is holding the campaign to fund positions and programs that may be cut in the future. The foundation is requesting that a dollar a day for a year be donated for each of the 8,400 students in the Davis Joint Unified School District. According to a press release, Janet Berry, DSF president, the foundation has received at least 900 donations of $365.

According to the DSF website, “DJUSD needs to cut over $4 million from its budget. Our school district’s monetary deficit translates into devastating cuts that will impact all classrooms in our K-12 public schools.”

The ultimate goal for the campaign is to collect $3.08 million towardan annual financial resource that will maintain programs and teaching positions.

Lee will be presenting the $30,000 check to the foundation tonight at the school board meeting.

To donate, go to davisschoolsfoundation.org or send a donation to P.O. Box 1154 Davis, CA 95617. You can also visit one of the foundation’s upcoming events.