She taught at Springboro High School for just seven years. But when Patricia McCandless died in 2018, she left her entire estate to the high school.
“We’ve been asking ourselves, ‘Why? Why Springboro High School?’ ” Scott Marshall, communications coordinator for the district said in a release.
Marshall talked to local news organizations and community members, trying to find people who knew McCandless, who worked for the district when the building was called Clearcreek High School.
After speaking with some of McCandless’s close friends, he figured the answer had to be the late Ray Perez, a former school superintendent and an early teacher and mentor for McCandless.
Former superintendent may have inspired career in education
McCandless had Perez as her sixth-grade teacher at Anthony Wayne Elementary and then again as her senior homeroom teacher at Franklin High School. He was also the advisor for the Future Teachers of America Club, which McCandless joined her sophomore year.
After graduating high school in 1957, McCandless earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Miami University. Perez was the one who hired McCandless to work in Clearcreek Local Schools in 1961. She taught English there until 1968, before leaving to get a master's degree in library science from Indiana University.
“While never stated by Ms. McCandless, that we could find, it’s the opinion of friends close to Patty that Ray Perez giving Ms. McCandless her start at Clearcreek High School was the reason for Patty’s gracious donation to SHS all these years later,” Marshall said. “You couldn’t ask for a better example of paying it forward.”
McCandless's estate is $471,644.01 in total. The district received the money in June and is currently assembling a committee of administration, staff, community members and McCandless's friends to determine exactly how the money will be distributed over the course of the next several decades, Marshall said.
Marshall said the schools have never received a similar donation before.
"You'll have people that may leave portions of their estate or do generous donations, but in my career, I have never seen anybody leave their entire estate before. it's unprecedented," he said.
The money will be used for scholarships and other student needs for students in grades 9-12 at Springboro High School, as per McCandless’s wishes.
"The great thing about this is that Ms. McCandless is someone who dedicated her life to teaching and library science and impacted a lot of people during her career," Marshall said. "Now that she's passed, this generous donation is going to impact a number of students for decades to come."
Erin is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Erin's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at [email protected] to find out how you can help fund her work.
Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @ee_glynn.
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