The Merrillville Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees recently accepted a donation of land from the family of a Merrillville High School teacher.
The James F. Giannini family donated seven and a half acres of land, located at 124 E. 73rd Ave., near Pierce Middle School. Ben Nicksic, a math teacher at MHS, said the land was purchased by Giannini, who was his grandfather, and has been in his family for decades.
“The Merrillville School Board is honored to accept this donation from the Giannini family on behalf of the entire school community,” said Linda Jonaitis, president of the board of school trustees. “The donation honors the past but also provides an opportunity to build for the future.
“The sense of community that this family has expressed reflects the culture that exists in our schools and community, and for this we are grateful,” she said.
Sandi Stoffregen, one of Giannini’s four daughters and Nicksic’s aunt, said her father, who was town engineer for Merrillville and had his own engineering firm, considered at one time to build a subdivision on the land, which could be divided into 22 lots. Giannini passed away in 2013.
Nicksic said his family had no plans for the land until he started working at the high school. A property appraisal noted its highest and best use would be “for some form of recreation such as a park, playground or school use.”
“Ben’s involvement with MHS reinforced that idea for us,” Stoffregen said.
“Merrillville schools are so great, due to the fact that no student seems to ever feel like they do not have a place here,” Nicksic said. “There are so many avenues for college or career readiness that real success is possible for all kids, even if they do not do well in traditional classes.”
Nicksic, who has been a math teacher at MHS for four years, said this feeling of student belonging and purpose at a school hasn’t always been his experience in his career as a teacher, and he feels it is paramount to building a community that includes everyone.
He described a day last year when he visited auto shop and ran into one of his students who, despite all efforts, struggled in his math class.
“The pride he had when he showed me the work he had done in Mr. Johnston's class,” Nicksic said. “He said cars make sense to him, whereas a lot of math did not.
“I assured him that he had found something great that he liked, and that skill was something I myself would struggle at,” he continued.
“It’s been a great experience working at MHS, and we as a family wanted the land to help build something for a kid like that who will now have a successful career and life,” Nicksic added.
The school corporation has no immediate plans for the land.
“Whatever is best for the school is what we’d like to see happen,” Nicksic said.