Countywide : Taco Bell Donates $50,000 to Schools

Four Orange County school districts Thursday received a total of $50,000 from the Taco Bell Corp. to use for programs ranging from science research to field trips that were threatened by the county bankruptcy.

Irvine Unified School District was awarded $20,000, the largest grant. Half the money will be used to reinstate the district’s annual seventh-grade science field trip to the Discovery Center’s Launch Pad, a hands-on science museum in Costa Mesa. The other $10,000 will be applied toward special-education programs.

Capistrano Unified will use its $10,000 grant to complete construction of an electronic-based research center at Dana Hills High School. The research center will provide Internet access and training to students, officials said.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District received $10,000 for its Foundation Grants To Teachers program, a nonprofit community group that generates private support for the school district.

The foundation supports academic programs in the sciences, arts, geography and bilingual reference materials. The funding also will supplement peer assistance and leadership training for elementary students.

Saddleback Valley Unified School District will split its $10,000 between Mission Viejo High School and Los Alisos Intermediate School.

At Mission Viejo, the money will help complete expansion of the school’s computer lab.

At Los Alisos, the grant will support a special science program, called Edunetics, for seventh- and eighth-graders.