Adrian school board thankful for support, accepts more than $63,000 in donations
ADRIAN — Nate Parker, superintendent of Adrian Public Schools, expressed his gratitude last week, saying he was floored by the generosity of the community when the Adrian Board of Education accepted more than $63,000 in donations during its Sept. 12 meeting.
The bulk of the donations, totaling $63,865, came from a $50,000 donation to benefit the Adrian baseball and softball programs courtesy of Frank and Shirley Dick. The donation, Parker said, will be used to offset costs for the district’s seating renovation project at both the baseball and softball fields, which is currently underway.
Frank Dick, a local philanthropist and a devoted Lenawee County resident, died Sept. 5 at the age of 96.
Dick’s wife, Shirley, died in 2010, with the well-known couple having been married for more than 63 years.
The Dicks supported numerous organizations throughout Lenawee County. Supporting education and the county’s school districts were something the Dicks did regularly. Frank Dick was a school superintendent before he became CEO and president of the Gleaner Life Insurance Society.
“He’s always been extremely generous to the schools and to the community,” Parker said during last week’s board meeting while publicly noting the death of Frank Dick. “He was a sharp guy and was concerned about his community. The heart he had for education, youth and the community was incredible.”
Parker said he met Frank Dick just once, but he was definitely aware of the impact both Frank and Shirley made on education in Lenawee County.
The other accepted donations last week included:
James and Sally Dickson, $300 to the Families in Transition program.
Maple Fans Club, $11,095 to boys tennis, boys soccer, boys basketball, football, equestrian, a soccer records board, varsity letters and the captain’s breakfast.
Westfall family, $2,000 to the School Spirit campaign.
Dane Nelson, $470 to the Adrian football program.
“Every board meeting we read off donations that people have given to the school and it’s really just incredible,” Parker said. “It floors me how generous this community is. In addition to that, the education foundation just gave away $98,000 in classroom grants. That number is incredible, too. And that goes right back into the classroom for our staff, teachers and students.”
The board of education, which meets regularly the second and fourth Mondays of the month, posted on the school district’s website, www.adrianmaples.org, it will not be convening for its next meeting, Sept. 26, due to a lack of business.
In other business
The Adrian school board at its Sept. 12 meeting, also:
Approved resolutions of merit pay for administrative assistant employees through the International Union of Operating Engineers, teachers through the Adrian Education Association and nonunion employees for the 2022-23 school year.
Established dates and times for public hearings of the reproductive health committee. The first public hearing was 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday with a second public hearing scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Approved a list of seven new hires for the 2022-23 school year including Joanne Duford, full-time special education teacher at Adrian High School; Kathryn Kardiff, media paraprofessional for Prairie Elementary School; Jessica Sevilla, paraprofessional for Michener Elementary School; Lilly Walsh, paraprofessional for Michener Elementary School; Crystal Tucker, paraprofessional for Michener Elementary School; Laure Pontius, paraprofessional for Springbrook Middle School; and Robin Micallef, full-time mental health professional for Alexander Elementary School. There are now mental health specialists at all four elementary buildings at APS.
Approved four resignations consisting of Head Start teacher Greta Kaempf, effective Sept. 8; food service employee Tammy Mort, effective Aug. 18; paraprofessional Chris Harlan, effective Sept. 6; and director of community recreation Sam Hotopp, effective Sept. 9.
Approved the 2022-23 fall coaching recommendations for both Adrian High School fall sports and Springbrook Middle School fall sports. The only coaching position remaining vacant is assistant varsity sideline cheerleading coach.
Heard a report from Parker regarding lessons and activities that will be ongoing around the district to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 15 and continues through Oct. 15. The main entryway to Adrian High School is graced with flags representative of Hispanic countries.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian school board accepts more than $63,000 in donations
