Chris Savage was shocked to learn the $20,000 prize he won from Samsung's "Hope for Education" essay contest for East Lansing High School was rejected because the principal refused to provide her social security number on the paperwork.
"I heard from Samsung saying (the school) had declined it," said Savage, an East Lansing resident. "The first thing I did was e-mail the principal saying, 'What the heck?' I couldn't understand it. There was other information they could provide like tax numbers to obtain the resources."
Savage's son Cameron attends the school.
Paula Steele, the school's principal, said she was skeptical of the contest when they asked for her social security number for tax purposes, because of the possibility of identity theft.
"I've never had to do that before," Steele said. "I've accepted grants or awards upwards of $250,000, much more important than this. No grant should ever ask for an individual person's social security number. That's when it fell apart."
Steele said the school wanted more information before accepting the prize.
"We didn't really decline the prize," she said. "I have to take anything to the school board to accept or decline on behalf of the community. My job was to get as much information as I could."
Karen Gaynin, a spokeswoman for the essay contest, said this is the first time a school declined the prize.
"The people that administer the group said the principal never mentioned her concern about providing the social security number," Gaynin said. "If she had, they would have told her they would accept the tax number to substitute. We understand the privacy concerns."
Samsung requires a social security number or tax identification number to make sure the prize is used properly, Gaynin said.
The prize was divided into $10,000 worth of Microsoft software and $10,000 worth of Samsung electronic equipment.
The contest was held April 28-July 1, 2005. Essays had to answer the question "How will the growing use of technology in the classroom benefit students in the future?"
"You can go Google it, it's a big deal," Savage said.
Sarah McElrath, another contest winner from Grand Haven, said Lakeshore Middle School had no problem providing the necessary information and acquiring the prize.
"You're giving all of your information, and it sounds pretty scary," she said. "But we've done it and we're enjoying the equipment we got."
McElrath said she was slightly wary of the contest when she first applied.
"I admit, I did run this by my principal, my tech people and we might have had our lawyer look at it, too," she said. "I'm assuming they keep that information relatively secure. We haven't been inundated with e-mails by tons of people."
Cameron Savage, Chris' son, said he's upset his school didn't get the money because it would have benefited the students and staff.
Steele said that as a public employee, it's her job to protect the community and the school.
"It's a process of dotting your I's and crossing your T's," she said. "We're a public institution budgeting and getting as much as we can for our students. But, we want to do it in the most professional manner possible."
Dave Chapin, East Lansing Public Schools superintendent, said he stands by Steele's decision.
"That's pretty uncommon to ask for a social security number before receiving the award," he said. "We were cautious, a little careful, a little conservative — and you have to be that way sometimes. This opportunity escaped us."
