A data center company is gifting millions of dollars to schools in Meridian.
On Wednesday, Compass Datacenters announced a one-time $5 million donation to the Meridian Public School District to support teachers, students, and overall education in the area.
“This investment reaches our teachers, our staff, and the everyday needs of running our schools,” Meridian Public School District Superintendent Dr. Amy Carter said. “For a district that gives so much to its students, having a partner step up like this means a great deal. On behalf of our educators and the families we serve, thank you to Compass.”
As the company’s data center campus begins to take shape in Meridian, it reportedly asked Mayor Percy Bland to recommend a destination for a monetary gift to give back to the community. Bland encouraged Compass to support the Meridian Public School District’s approximately 4,400 students with the donation.
“From the beginning of our conversations with Compass, I made it clear that one of the most meaningful investments they could make in our city would be in our public schools,” Mayor Percy Bland said.
“I specifically asked that our teachers, staff, and the people who dedicate their lives to educating our children benefit from the economic growth taking place in our city. Compass listened, and today that conversation has become a $5 million commitment to the Meridian Public School District. This is what meaningful, thoughtful partnership looks like, and it matters.”
Compass responded by directing the gift to where district leaders said it was needed most: teacher pay, support-staff compensation, and other administrative priorities set by the district.
“Our commitment to Meridian doesn’t stop at the edge of our campus,” Compass Datacenters President AJ Byers said. “We want every part of this community to share in what we’re building. When Mayor Bland asked us to make sure the city’s own public schools benefit directly too, that was an easy yes. Meridian’s teachers and staff show up for this community’s children every day, and this gift is our way of showing up for them.”
Compass is no stranger to dishing out large amounts of money in the Magnolia State, they also invested $10 billion a campus in Lauderdale County featuring eight data centers occupied by individual tenants.
