Lincolnview Board accepts $574K donation

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

It’s the type of gift that doesn’t come along often.

During Thursday night’s meeting, the Lincolnview Board of Education accepted a donation of $574,494.41 from the Earl Gerdeman Trust on behalf of the Earl and Doris Gerdeman family.

It’s the largest gift ever given to Lincolnview Local Schools.

Gerdeman, who passed away in 2015, taught vocational agriculture for 35 years at Lincolnview High School. He retired in 1989.

“If you knew Mr. Earl Gerdeman, he had the biggest heart ever,” Superintendent Jeff Snyder said. “He cared about not only our school but Van Wert County, and that speaks volumes about his character, his commitment to teaching. This will be felt for generations by our community.”

“To be given a half million dollars from a teacher who taught here, I don’t have any words to express how proud I am of our district, and I’m especially proud of the Gerdeman family,” Snyder added. “He just left an incredible mark and we were lucky to have him as a teacher in our district.”

Gerdeman’s brother, Bill, and his wife, Mary, were at the meeting, and Bill Gerdeman noted that his brother was an outstanding basketball player who tried out at Ohio State after graduating from Middle Point High School in 1948.

The donation will be used for agricultural, sports, and recreational purposes.

In other business, the board approved a contract with Westwood Behavioral Health Center to provide a variety of on-site mental health services, including individual and group counseling.

“Today’s youth are faced with demanding social expectations, trauma experience that often exceeds their ability to cope with these issues,” Westwood CEO Mark Spieles told the board.

Services offered by Westwood will be phased in over time, and Spieles said Lincolnview won’t be billed.

“Westwood is able to bill Medicaid, Medicare and most third-party insurances, and we’re also a contract provider for the Van Wert-Mercer-Paulding Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services Board,” Spieles explained. “These contracts allow us to provide services to those who are under or uninsured through a sliding fee scale.”

Spieles also noted that no student will be turned away for the inability to pay.

The board approved several other agenda items, including a new four year contract for Lincolnview Elementary Principal Nita Meyer; a supplemental contract for Tyla Mason, assistant bowling coach, and overnight trips for the wrestling team to the Perrysburg Invitational January 10 and 11, and the Van Buren Invitational January 17 and 18.

The board also approved a trip for FFA teacher Jordan Dues and select students to attend the FFA Leadership Conference on January 19 and 20 in Dublin, and a trip for board member Eric Germann to attend the National School Board Association Equity Symposium and Advocacy Institute in Washington D.C. February 1-4.

Board members also gave approval to the latest five year financial forecast as required by law.

“Years one, two and three we can be somewhat comfortable with but anytime you go three and out, there’s just a lot of things that can change,” Treasurer Troy Bowersock said. “Based upon what we think at this point and time, our expenditures are going to cross over to exceeding our revenues, possibly in the next fiscal year. That’s just something to be mindful of.”

Bowersock also said two new busses purchased by the district should be in around Christmas time.

The board honored cross country State qualifier Madison Langdon, the 2019 Northwest Conference champion volleyball team and the Lincolnview Drama Club for the fall play “Look Who’s Laughing.”

The next meeting of the Lincolnview Local Schools Board of Education will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 19, in the Neubrecht Lecture Hall.