EVERETT — A group of parents of Cascade High School students has established a scholarship fund, collecting more than $2,500 in donations.
The group, Bruin Community Parents, plans to give out one $500 “Steve Bertrand Cross Country for Community Scholarship” each year to a student selected by the longtime cross-country coach, Steve Bertrand.
Bertrand was removed from his coaching job by the School District in December after he was reprimanded for actions that led some cross-country students to distribute campaign fliers for Mike Wilson, a fellow Cascade teacher running for the state House of Representatives.
Bertrand was later reinstated as assistant coach after a massive protest by Cascade parents and supporters.
Bruin Community Parents already gives out five or six $500 scholarships per year to seniors at Cascade High.
The money for those programs comes from the group’s membership dues and other fundraising efforts, said Carl Shipley, the former president of Bruin Community Parents who spearheaded the new scholarship.
The group set up a Gofundme account to raise money for Bertrand when it looked as if he could be out of a job, Shipley said.
That drive raised about $2,300 before the district reversed its decision.
“He got reinstated, so I thought, ‘What should we do with the money?’” Shipley said.
“For years we had talked about (how) it would be great to get a scholarship for a cross-country kid,” he said.
The idea behind the scholarship is that the student would also exemplify Bertrand’s commitment to the wider community.
But this first year, Bertrand has agreed to pick the recipient.
“We want to give him leeway on this,” Shipley said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald
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