PARIS – Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School class of 2003 graduates received $291,161 in scholarships Wednesday night in the annual awards ceremony.

There were 111 scholarships given, many of them had multiple recipients.

The largest locally generated scholarships, $65,000 each from the James A. and Beatrice D. Jackson Fund, went to Jacob Folz and Danielle Farrar. The fund was set up in 1994 specifically for West Paris youths.

It was also announced that Erik Munn was appointed to West Point and that the cost of his tuition is an estimated $280,000.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to see the amount of support that graduates receive from individuals, the communities, groups and the towns,” said SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman. “This really encourages our young people who are facing significant costs.”

Scholarships totaled $152,079 more last year. Eastman said the poor performance by the stock market cost the established trusts money in interest not earned by investments.

Eastman explained that the $2 million trust overseen by the Oxford Hills Scholarship Foundation earned no interest this year. The trust was set up in 1999 with an anonymous donation of $1 million. Two years later another anonymous $1 million was donated.

Last year the $2 million trust provided $100,000 in scholarships and the Jackson Fund $84,000 to individuals.

“It’s the anonymous donor’s specific request that the principal not be used and all the interest earned be given away,” Eastman said. “But this year the market has done so poorly.”

Eastman said there is a chance that some money in the $2 million trust could become available by the fall. He said all the requests for funding will be held and if possible, some scholarships would be granted in the fall.

New scholarships added this year were: the Travis Van Durme Memorial Scholarship, SAD 17 Head Custodial Scholarship, Tony Waldeier Memorial Scholarship and the Leigh Phillips Scholarship.

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