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GREENSBORO — The Governor’s School could be on its way back.

The nonprofit Governor’s School Foundation has taken the lead in a major fundraising effort and, in a matter of months, has managed to raise more than $300,000 to save the program — much of it by rallying alumni through an email campaign.

The school lost its approximately $850,000 in state funding this year. The program will not be held next summer without significant private funds — at least $550,000 — by the end of the month.

The State Board of Education formed a task force to explore ways to keep the Governor’s School alive.

The board will make the final decision about whether the program is held in 2012. Chris Greene, a High Point resident who is chairwoman of the task force, said that decision is expected next month.

The Governor’s School is the oldest statewide residential summer program for academically gifted high school students in the country.

Rising juniors and seniors spend six weeks at Meredith College in Raleigh or Salem College in Winston-Salem studying various academic disciplines and the arts.

Students were once able to attend free but have had to pay $500 in tuition for the past two years.

Buoyed by the pace of fundraising so far, state education officials have already mailed nomination materials for Governor’s School candidates to school districts.

Several events are being held this month to raise money, including one in Greensboro next weekend.

Alumnus Scott Gayle, a Greensboro attorney, hopes to raise enough money to offer the program on at least one campus this summer, and to give legislators a reason to reconsider funding the program next year.

“We were left with quite a challenge because, if you allow a year to go by with no Governor’s School, it would probably be even more difficult to have the funding reinstated by the legislature down the road,” said Gayle, who is chairman of the fund drive.

Gayle studied math at Governor’s School in 1968 and said the program offered a unique experience to mingle with talented students in different disciplines.

The program instills confidence in students, he said, allowing them to aim higher in their achievements.

“What we’re seeing is that a large number of folks who have attended have become leaders in whatever they chose to put their time and energy into,” Gayle said.

Allen Broach has acted in just three plays in his life, but the techniques he learned while studying drama at Governor’s School have served him well in other areas of his life, he said.

He used them when he wrote and directed commercials while working as communications director for a furniture company, and they would come into play in his latest career.
“The Governor’s School gave me a love for theater and drama,” said Broach, who is owner of The Broach Theatre.

As a teacher and counselor, Greene saw firsthand how students benefited from the program.

“These students go and spend six weeks (and) when they come back to their school, the experience that they have had at Governor’s School spills over into the life in their home school,” Greene said. “And they share that with other students.”

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com