The principal is telling you, without saying it out loud, that he doesn't consider this a priority. Whatever need the money was donated to address is not very high on his list of concerns. There are two likely reasons the principal would stall: 1. He already spent the money on something else; 2. He doesn't want to devote the time that this project would require of him.
It would be a lot easier to figure out a next step if you knew which one of these was the cause of the delay. One possibility is to assume it's the time issue. Meet with him and put together a committee that will do all the work -- with the exception of things that absolutely must be done by the principal. If he balks at this or continues to find ways to stall, you'll know that's not the issue.
In the end, you can't really control how something is used once it's donated. It's certainly questionable to use money donated for one purpose to fund something else. If that's the case, then you'll need to decide how to pursue the situation. One possibility is to raise more money, purchase whatever needs to be purchased, and donate it to the school as a gift. Another is to bring significant pressure to bear on the principal. Something like that can really split the school, but you will be better situation to make the decision about whether that's worth it. Good luck, and please let us know how things go.
- Craig
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