District announces Edward Lacy scholarship fund for graduating seniors; foundation to manage awards

Doctor Simpson notified the board about the Edward Lacy scholarship, an endowment created in memory of a 1952 Webster Groves High School graduate. The scholarship fund—organized under the Lacey Bope Cree Scholarship Foundation—will begin awarding students four years after the donor’s passing and is intended to be renewable.

Simpson said estate managers estimated the trust principal at roughly $3,000,000 (the management firm suggested it could be larger), and that scholarship awards each year will not exceed 50 percent of the trust’s net income for that period or 50 percent of Washington University tuition—whichever figure the foundation sets within the trustee parameters. The scholarship will be paid directly to the educational institution, not to the student, and winners must be U.S. or Canadian citizens per the trust terms.

The foundation will include district and foundation representatives on its board. Simpson said the scholarship committee will determine award sizing and the number of recipients each year; because awards can be renewable for up to four years, the foundation will plan award amounts with sustainability in mind.