Kurt Wagner’s impact on the South Kitsap School District continues to grow — posthumously.

Earlier this month, the Kurt Wagner Education Fund awarded five classroom grants to teachers within SKSD.

During each of the last two years, the nonprofit has held its “Wine with Wags” event at McCormick Woods. The charity assists four South Kitsap High School graduates with college scholarships and also provides funding to low-income students in SKSD’s elementary band to aid them with instrumental rental fees and those needing assistance with athletic fees at the high school.

Rob Putaansuu, who is a Rotarian, said the organization decided to assist with those needs because Wagner was passionate about both.

Wagner played the saxophone and volunteered at high-school track meets. He also ran track at Central Washington University.

Wagner was SKSD’s deputy superintendent when he succumbed to cancer at age 57 on April 13, 2012. He had an array of administrative duties, which included overseeing the district’s special-education, gifted and career-technical education programs.

Putaansuu, who said the nonprofit was created when fellow members of the South Kitsap Rotary and his friends brainstormed ways to maintain the event — and his legacy, added that they wanted to expand the group’s contributions beyond the scholarship program.

He said members of the Kurt Wagner Education Fund wanted to provide two classroom grants. That changed, he said, when they received 11 applicants and decided to award them to five teachers.

Four elementary school teachers — South Colby’s Courtney Janes, Hidden Creek’s Nicole Endsley, and Burley-Glenwood’s Chris Lund and Carol Sears — each were awarded $500. SKHS’ Nikki Bleich, per her request, received $300.

“We have been very generously supported by the teachers in the school district and we thought it was important to give back to the classroom,” Putaansuu said.

Janes wrote her grant to purchase two iPad Mini’s. She said both will include the applications Popplet and Reading for Details. Janes also hopes to utilize the iMovie application.

“The goal was to increase motivation and use hands-on learning,” she said.

Wagner’s wife, Laurie, and retired South Colby sixth-grade teacher Dave Alexander presented the award.

“It was wonderful that it came from a family member,” she said.

“We certainly miss him. It’s wonderful that there’s something in his honor that’s going back to the district he loved.”

Putaansuu said the goal of the Kurt Wagner Education Fund is to create an endowment fund. They hold multiple fundraisers throughout the year in addition to the “Wine with Wags” event. They have three “Wednesday Brew Nights” throughout the year. Putaansuu said the next two both are scheduled for 5 p.m. — April 29 at the Port Orchard Lighthouse and June 10 at Whiskey Gulch Coffee Co.

He said the “Wine with Wags” event is scheduled for Sept. 12 at McCormick Woods. For more details on those, visit www.facebook.com/KurtWagnerEducationFund.

The idea behind the event, Putaansuu said, came from an annual wine and hors d’ oeuvres tasting event at Wagner’s house.

In addition to his administrative duties, Wagner mentored a student through Peer Assistant Learning from East Port Orchard Elementary, where he was principal from 1995-2000 and began his career as a teacher there in 1980.

He also served as an administrator overseeing curriculum and instruction before becoming an assistant superintendent in 2002.

Between stints in SKSD — he took a sabbatical in 1987 to earn master’s and doctoral degrees from Washington State — he spent time in the Central Kitsap School District as an assistant principal and principal from 1991-95.