LR couple gives $1 million to The Baptist Preparatory School.

Mark and Dianne Ross, a Little Rock couple, have donated $1 million to The Baptist Preparatory School, an elementary and secondary school in Little Rock.

The donation is the largest in the school’s 36-year-history, Head of School Laura Bednar said Tuesday.

“Mark and Dianne Ross have a longstanding and special relationship to Baptist Prep,” Bednar said. “Their generous donation … will touch the lives of all of our students.”

The donation will go toward a $2.6 million capital improvement to the system’s two campuses. That work includes construction of a multiuse athletic practice and performing arts center and renovations for the Upper School. The improvements at the Lower School are an 8,000-square-foot, artificial-turf activity field, playground renovations, an outdoor classroom/amphitheater, and safety and security upgrades.

The multiuse building will be used as a training space for the Upper School’s basketball and volleyball programs as well as a home for the band and choral performances and theatrical productions. More space for play at recess and room for after-school athletic activities will be possible as the result of the improvements at the Lower School.

The Rosses have a son and a daughter who attended Baptist Prep.

“We were blessed to have had the opportunity to send both of our children to Baptist Prep, where they received a great education in a Christ-centered environment, helping prepare them for their life’s journey,” Mark Ross said in a prepared statement.

“Baptist Prep continues to do a wonderful job preparing young men and women to live lives that make a difference, lives of courage and integrity,” Dianne Ross said.

Mark Ross is a retired president of Bank of the Ozarks. Dianne Ross has been president of the 20th Century Club. The Rosses have been leaders and fundraisers for different organizations including the Arkansas Respiratory Health Association and and the American Lung Association of Arkansas.