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Resident urges school committee to act on 10-year unadministered teacher scholarship
Summary
A resident told the committee a $5,500 donation earmarked as a scholarship for teachers was deposited long ago but never administered; the superintendent reported the gift exists in a district gift account and legal counsel advised the district to identify a custodian or transfer the funds to a scholarship administrator to honor donor intent.
Don Bham, a resident of Essex, told the Manchester Essex Regional School Committee during public comment on Oct. 7 that a donation made a decade ago for a scholarship to help teachers advance their degrees had not been administered.
"It is a horrible disgrace that someone who is such a wonderful teacher at Essex Elementary... and nothing has happened. Nothing," Don Bham said, urging the committee to address the funds and to apply about 10 years of interest to the $5,500 principal that has been sitting in the district account.
Superintendent staff later reported the district located the original check and deposit records and that the gift had been sitting in a district "gift account." The superintendent said the donation appeared to have been initiated in 2002–2003 and that an attorney's letter in 2015 characterized the money as a scholarship for teachers but provided no administration instructions or contact information.
District staff said they do not administer scholarships directly, consulted legal counsel and offered options: transfer the funds to an external scholarship custodian (such as local education foundations), have a local scholarship organization administer the award, or seek further legal guidance on how to honor donor intent. The superintendent said staff would work with Don Bham and local organizations to determine a path forward and return to the committee with a recommendation.
Committee members and administrators identified two practical next steps: confirm funds and documentation held in the district account, and consult counsel or a local scholarship administrator (for example, the Manchester Essex Education Fund or Friends of EES) to establish distribution criteria that honor donor intent.
Committee staff said they have copies of the check and deposit acknowledgements and will follow up with Don Bham and potential custodians to determine the most appropriate path for disbursing the funds and any accrued interest.
