$100K fundraiser created for Perry High School principal, called a hero in Iowa shooting
Within a few hours Tuesday, Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger’s friends, family, students and others quickly raised $15,000 of the $100,000 sought to help the longtime local administrator recover after being wounded in the Jan. 4 shootings at the school.
Law enforcement officials say Marburger was among the heroes in the Jan. 4 tragedy, intervening to distract shooter Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student who killed himself after the rampage. Ahmir Jolliff, 11, was killed and four other students, Marburger and two other staff members were wounded.
Laura Skeel, an Americans with Disabilities coordinator at Perry schools who organized the fundraiser, said on Facebook that she’s worked with Marburger for nine years, adding that he’s “more than a colleague.”
More: Perry organizer hopes to raise $100,000 to help families, including shooter's
“Dan is a husband, a father, a grandpa, an uncle, a cousin and a friend who lives and breathes for his family," Skeel wrote, adding that he has been principal since 1995.
“His love for his family, Perry High School, and any students and staff that have ever walked through his hallways shine through in all that he does. He is the epitome of Bluejay Strong, but he needs our help,” she wrote.
“Dan endured significant injuries in the tragic events at Perry High School … putting himself in harm’s way to ensure as many students and staff could safely exit the building,” she added.
“While his biggest priority right now is healing, the family is facing the reality that things in the Marburger family may never look the same,” said Skeel, noting that she and others hope to “take one thing off of their plate so that they can focus on caring for Dan and his healing.”
Perry Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh on Tuesday to the Des Moines Register that Marburger, taken to a Des Moines hospital, remains in critical condition.
Marburger's daughter Claire Marburger, Dan Marburger’s daughter, shared Skeel's posting on her Facebook page.
"Please consider donating and sharing this link as we look at a long road of healing and recovery," wrote the younger Marburger, former coach of the Perry varsity girl's basketball team, who previously made her own posting about her father's heroism, which Iowa officials investigating the shootings acknowledged Jan. 5.
Skeel said the donations will go to the Marburger family for immediate medical costs, but also for the long road of healing in the days, weeks and years ahead.
Other fundraisers have been organized for all the families affected by the shootings, including Butler's.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Fundraiser created for wounded Perry High Principal Dan Marburger
