District 21 receives $623,000 gift from former teacher

The trust of a former Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 teacher has given $623,000 to the school district that will be used for extracurricular activities for third, fourth and fifth grade students for decades to come.

The gift from the trust of Mary Ann Sanford, who taught for 28 years before retiring in 1989, was presented at a school board meeting Thursday night by Wendy Richter of the Lake County Community Foundation, which administers the trust.

Sanford, a third grade teacher at Twain and Sandburg elementary schools in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, died in 2017. She was passionate about science, particularly space and the solar system, and ran a Young Astronauts Club for students.

The school district is eligible to access about $25,000 of the gift annually.