Ross Family Gives $1M to Baptist Preparatory School
The Baptist Preparatory School has a million good reasons to thank Mark and Dianne Ross of Little Rock. The Rosses have given the school a $1 million gift, the largest in the school’s 36-year history, according to Dr. Laura Bednar, Baptist Prep’s head of school.
The donation is the keystone of a capital-raising effort aimed at enhancing facilities, and will offer key support to construction and renovations worth $2.6 million on the Upper and Lower School campuses, including a multi-use athletic practice and performing arts center, renovations at the Upper School and an 8,000-square-foot artificial turf field at the Lower School. Other projects include Lower School playground renovations and an outdoor classroom, as well as safety and security upgrades.
Mark Ross is a former COO and board member at Bank of the Ozarks, and Dianne is a noted philanthropist. Two of their children attended Baptist Prep.