DNC surplus goes to purchase thousands of books for Philly schools

Some extra money from the Democratic National Convention will go to purchase books for Philadelphia district school. 

The $750,000 that was kept in an escrow account has been donated to the school district of Philadelphia, said  Kevin Washo, former director of the DNC executive committee. The funds were used to secure a line of credit for the July event held in the city.”We had money set aside a year and a half ago, which we didn’t spend,” he said. “That’s why we are spending it on the school kids of Philadelphia.”The money will benefit the youngest students, said district superintendent William Hite.”It will specifically provide 80,000 new books for 150 kindergarten through third-grade classrooms across Philadelphia,” he said.By the end of the next school year,  Hite said, all those classrooms will have a library with the right books to succeed.

Democratic National Committee chair and former Gov. Ed Rendell said the DNC wanted to have a significant impact through the convention on the Philadelphia community. He called the donation “a bow on the entire convention process.”