Save the Lights Receives $15,000 in Donations

Photos by Evan Brandt

School board member and head Save the Lights fundraiser Polly Weand, in blue, accepts a $5,000 donation from members of the Federation of Pottstown Teachers during Monday night's Pottstown School Board Meeting.

You might call it the night of the big checks -- literally and figuratively.

At Monday night's school board meeting, two checks totalling $15,000 were presented to the Save the Lights effort to replace the night lighting at Grigg Memorial Field.

Myra Forrest with the framed, oversized check from the

Frances Chapin Philanthropic Fund presented Monday 

to the Save the Lights fundraising campaign.

The donations came, but were likely planned long before, a story in yesterday's Mercury outlining that with the pull-out of a $1 for $1 matching donor, the effort still has $130,000 to reach the $300,000 goal to replace the lights.

The donations received multiple thanks from the board members and Weand said she was truly surprised by the teacher contribution.

"I had a feeling I might be getting a check from Dr. Forrest," said Weand ... (perhaps because it was listed on the agenda ... ahem) "but I am truly surprised by this generosity from our teachers. Who should I hug?" she asked with a laugh.

There were a few other items of note -- such as the delaying on moving forward with a long over-due upgrade to the fields along North Franklin Street that could cost as much as $300,000.

Also, a concerned parent said the district's bullying policy "is a joke" and that her child has been bullied since the third grade and the district seems powerless to do anything about it.

Board member Katina Bearden said her daughter had also been bullied and she and board member Amy Francis both said the district's policy needs to be re-examined and possibly strengthened.

But you can find it all in the Tweets below....