The students and teachers of the Newton County School District were honored by the Mississippi Department of Education for its “A” rating on Friday afternoon, and the students got a surprise announcement.
Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation, and his wife, Mary, were at the event to help announce that the company was donating the company’s former manufacturing facility, located next to the Newton County Middle High School campus, to the school district to use to expand its educational programs.
The company worked with state and local officials lead by Senate President Pro Tempore Terry C. Burton of Newton during the past five months to complete the donation. The facility will be renamed as the Peavey Annex.
Burton formally announced the donation at the event and it received thunderous applause from the students in the audience.
Peavey said that he hopes his donation 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 here in Mississippi.”
The 125,000-square-foot facility and 38 acres of land includes lighted parking and is valued at more than $3 million. The school board had long discussed the possibility of purchasing the property but learned of the possibility of the company donating it around five months ago.
“I am grateful to the Peaveys for being willing to make this generous donation,” Burton said. “I’ve spoken with Hartley and Mary about this effort for a while now and appreciate their decision. Mississippi is a better place because of generous corporate citizens like the Peaveys, and the students of Newton County schools will benefit for many years in the future.”
Mark Savell, president of the NCSD School Board, said the plans for the building are preliminary and no timetable for renovating the building has been set.
“This is the first step but it will be used, we just don’t know what for or what direction we will go in,” Savell said. “There’s going to have to be a lot of work done to determine what’s going to best for the school district. We all want what’s best for the children.”
State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said an acquisition such as the Peavey Annex is something that few districts around the state can claim and that corporations and small businesses play an important part in improving and maintaining academic achievements.
“It’s incredible for the kids and not many school districts get the opportunity to do something like that,” Wright said. “Business partners are key, they can really shine a light on new opportunities for children and careers for children and it’s really rare to get a donation of this magnitude. I know the school district is going to be really excited to use it.”
Hartley Peavey founded the company in 1965 and its headquarters are still located in Meridian. The manufacturing facility in Decatur closed several years ago and has sat vacant since then.
Mary Peavey, who is president of the Peavey Electronics Corporation and has served on the Mississippi Arts Commission, said she hopes there will be room in the facility for arts education when it is remodeled.
“I would love to see a renewed investment in arts education as a result of this donation. Music, literature and visual arts are the cornerstones of our state’s creative economy, which spans from the earliest blues musicians and writers through the hit makers and visionaries of today,” Mary said. “Arts inspire the innovation our state needs to compete in the global economy and ensure Mississippi thrives for the next generations.”
