CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Harbor View Principal Drenched — As Promised — To Celebrate Jog-A-Thon Fundraising

Harbor View Elementary School’s new principal knew before he accepted the job that this was very likely coming — a sticky, Gatorade drenching to celebrate the students’ fundraising from the school’s annual Jog-a-Thon.

“Gatorade! Gatorade! Gatorade!” the students chanted as parents doused Todd Schmidt at today’s Flag Deck ceremony.

Traditionally, the Harbor View principal has agreed to be dunked if the students meet the Jog-A-Thon’s fundraising goals. This year, organizers hoped to raise $35,000, and at today’s Flag Deck, they announced they’d raised $45,538.40.

This year’s event took place Oct 26, when students ran laps along with police and firefighters; read our story here. Students ran by grade for 20 minutes at a time, with Schmidt joining all the grades while carrying a Harbor View Viking flag.

Some parents specifically requested that the school’s new principal be willing to participate in the Jog-A-Thon, including having the “willingness to have Gatorade poured on them,” during an August meeting when the school’s principal search began; read our story here.

Schmidt said he attended the meeting and knew what was in store.

“If they reach the goal, I’m ready for the Gatorade,” he said during the Jog-A-Thon break; read more about this year’s event here. Today, after grabbing a shower at a nearby health club, he said it was “so worth it.”

“It had the feeling of success and huge accomplishment for the Harbor View community,” he said.

Tracy Allen, who along with parent volunteer Helen MacKinnon organized this year’s Jog-A-Thon, said she was overwhelmed by the spirit of generosity at the school.

Funds raised by the event pay for Parent Faculty Organization projects at the school, including a plan to have iPads available for students in all grades; read more here. The Jog-A-Thon originally paid for a P.E. teacher at the school after budget cuts eliminated that position.