Crothersville VFW Post representative Ed Hall (center) presents local school board secretary Dale Schmelzle and school superintendent Terry Goodin with a check for $10,000 to establish a new scholarship program for CHS graduates. Recent legislation allows the school to match the VFW contribution.
A new scholarship program is now available for Crothersville High School students.
Dale Schmelzle, secretary of the Crothersville Community Schools Board of Trustees, said at last week’s board meeting that the Crothersville Post 1083 Veterans of Foreign Wars has contributed $10,000 to the program, and Crothersville Community Schools will match that donation through Community Foundation of Jackson County.
Legislation approved last year allows school corporations to match scholarships up to a certain level. Schmelzle said the money will begin to go toward students graduating in 2010; however, there will be a separate VFW scholarship for students graduating this year.
“This will only use returns from investments to fund the annual scholarship so that the program will go on in perpetuity,” said Schmelzle, a US Navy veteran.
Local VFW spokesperson Ed Hall said the local post used proceeds from weekly bingo to fund the scholarship and that the VFW intends to continue to add to the scholarship. “As long as people support our bingo nights,” he said.
The VFW will determine each year who will get the scholarship based on established criteria such as the student must be from Crothersville with preference given students who have a veteran in their family.
In other business,
•Superintendent Terry Goodin announced that Crothersville will be offering full-day kindergarten beginning this fall.
•Resignations were accepted from Danny Lee, as varsity boys golf coach, and Cheryl Nehrt, junior high volleyball coach. The board approved filling the golf coach position with Mark Bowman.
•Goodin said after consensus from the school board to not continue the contract of James Stewart as boys varsity basketball coach, the district is now taking applications for the position. He added he wanted to fill the position before the end of this school year.
Stewart had coached six seasons at Crothersville. The Tigers finished this season with a 7-16 record with a sectional loss to Orleans.
