Tremont Education Foundation

Tremont Education Foundation Recipient of Two Generous Gifts

Recently the Tremont Education Foundation was named as a benefactor in the estates for Cecil and Betty Paine and Sally and James Pflederer respectively.

TEF received a gift of slightly more than $177,000 from the Paine estate.  Cecil and Betty were both raised during the Great Depression of the 1930's when educational opportunities were greatly limited.  Cecil was forced to discontinue his formal education at a young age in order to help support his family.  He was the oldest of ten children born to James and Nellie Paine. Cecil worked as an Operating Engineer for thirty-six years at R.A. Cullinan retiring in 1980.  A number of his siblings graduated from Tremont High
School.

Betty was born in Tremont Township and graduated from Tremont High School in 1945.  Betty also worked at R.A. Cullinan for nine years before marrying Cecil in 1954 then went to work for Caterpillar before retiring from there in 1985.  Cecil and Betty never had any children but loved and helped their siblings in numerous ways.  It is the family's impression that Cecil's not being able to complete his formal education and their love for children greatly influenced their decision to support the Tremont Education Foundation in a lasting way.

Sally Pflederer was born in Riverside, California, before moving to Illinois and graduating from Illinois State University in 1961.  She married James Pflederer in 1970 and spent many years living in Tremont and working as a substitute teacher for Tremont CUSD #702.

Sally was a member of the Tremont Baptist Church, Tremont Garden Club, and Spring Lake Women's Club.  She was an avid golfer and spent more than thirty-five years raising and showing toy poodles.  The estate of Sally and James Pflederer donated more than $21,000 to the Tremont Education Foundation.


Annual Report



The Tremont Education Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt entity whose purpose is to financially support educational programs, which will complement, enrich and enhance the educational opportunities for the students in Tremont Schools.

All donors, both individuals and corporations, will become foundation members and will receive news of foundation activities.

All donations are tax-exempt.

Wills, Trusts, and Memorials are greatly appreciated.

Over the last 14 years, the foundation has awarded $162,332 in teacher classroom project grants.

To learn more about this opportunity to support your schools, contact Superintendent Don Beard at 309-925-3461 or to contribute, please send your donations to:

Tremont School District #702
400 W. Pearl St.
Tremont IL 61568

Pres: Bill Hopkins
VPres: Gene Pflederer
Treas: Mitch Scott
Sec: Bev Herrin
Other Board Members:
Kevin Ulrich
Elizabeth Baker
Joyce Madsen
Michele Garey
Christy Musselman
Brad Sauder
Luke Porritt
Ex-Officio: Don Beard


Tremont Education Foundation Awards Grants

Tremont Education Foundattion would like to thank everyone who applied for the Tremont Education Foundation grants for next year.  The TEF grant committee made its recommendations to the TEF board last night and here is a summary of their actions.

• A total of twelve separate requests from fifteen teachers were submitted
• Requests totaled $49,620.01 of which $16,444 was awarded

The following requests were funded:

• Technology Integration for 2nd grade - three teachers for a total of $5,085.09
• TGS Library Automation - Mrs. Fuoss-total of $1500
• In Class LCD Monitor - Mr. Gossmeyer-middle school math-total of $1500
• Enhancing Presentation Input and Output-Ms. Watts-middle school technology- total of   $1,485.55
• Virtual/Paperless Classroom Implementation using Moodle Course Management Software-Mr. Isenburg and Miss Eve- $2000
• Video Projects for Social Studies and Technology - Miss Eve and Mr. Schmidt- $1560
• Technology Integration and Mathematics-Mrs. King- $1362
• The Traveling Art Exhibit-Mrs. Roller- $1499
• Providing the Opportunity (PTO Lab)-Mr. Schaidle- $452.36