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Chair Jennifer Hoyt says town will not seek petition to change Morrill scholarship; trustees plan records policy
Summary
At the January trustees meeting, Chair Jennifer Hoyt read DOJ guidance on the Edwina Morrill scholarship and said the town will not petition to alter the trust; trustees organized historical records, approved minutes, and will finalize a record-keeping policy at their April meeting.
Chair Jennifer Hoyt said the Trustees of the Trust Funds will not seek a court petition to change restrictions on the Edwina Morrill scholarship, saying the donor’s heirs should hire private counsel rather than using town funds. The meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
Hoyt read an email from Amy Nichols, identified in the message as a financial investigator with the Department of Justice, that summarized the trust’s terms and the legal path required to alter them. "The original trust restricted the award to an average of $1,000 annually," the email said. The DOJ message also said the donor required the trust to be held as an annuity and that the annuity’s first maturity date was 2025; it noted heirs may not change the charitable fund and that a petition would be required to alter or close the fund. The DOJ recommended trustees and the school district consult town counsel and said the CTU must be party to any petition.
Following the reading, Hoyt said the town would not pursue such a petition and that the family should retain counsel at their own expense. "The Town will not be seeking this petition since it is the family who should seek legal counsel at their expense," she said. That position means the trust will be held under its current terms unless the heirs bring a petition and the court permits a modification.
Trustees also handled administrative business. Louise Andrus presented organized financial records and said she and Hoyt filed materials into the selectmen’s historical binders; they reviewed a stack of records left by a previous staff member, discarding nonessential items and preserving documents to be placed into a new Trustee Issues binder for future trustees to reference. With one agreed edit, the trustees will adopt a draft record-keeping policy at the next meeting.
The board approved the October 2025 minutes after Hoyt suggested edits; Hoyt moved to approve, Andrus seconded and all voting members present approved the motion. Hoyt also announced she is running for re-election to her trustee seat. The trustees adjourned at 7:13 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for April 23, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
