Los Gatos Weekly-Times Tom Baer endowment goal grows By Shari Kaplan The Tom Baer Teachers for the Future Fund, created in October 1997 in memory of Los Gatan Tom Baer, has increased its endowment goal from $50,000 to $75,000 and seeks additional community support. Baer, a longtime teacher and administrator in South Bay schools, died in August 1997. By the end of the 1997-98 school year, the fund had already raised approximately $46,000 from 300 donors and awarded two $1,000 scholarships. Recipients Kalpna Mistry of Mountain View High School and Steven Puccinelli of Cupertino High School both intend to become high-school teachers. The fund is designed to broaden the pool of candidates entering the teaching profession. It provides scholarships to college-bound high school seniors who are in need of assistance. Eligible students attend schools in the communities in which Baer worked and lived: the five high schools of the Fremont Union High School District--Fremont, Lynbrook, Homestead, Cupertino and Monta Vista--Mountain View High School, and Los Gatos High School. Baer worked as a teacher, administrator and sports coach at Mountain View High School and within the Fremont Union High School District. A Los Gatos resident for 20 years, Baer served on the town's planning commission. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks may be made payable to the Fremont Union High Schools Foundation and mailed to the Tom Baer Teachers of the Future Fund, P.O. Box 215, Los Gatos, 95031. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 9, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.