In 1947, administration of the Falls Township, Lower Makefield Township and Yardley Borough schools was combined to form a reginal school board under the Joint School Board Act of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, the public schools were under the jurisdiction of the townships and borough. In 1963 Tullytown Borough also joined the joint board. The school board was called the Pennsbury Joint School Board because of the close location to Pennsbury Manor. Medill Bair was the Reginal Superintendent of this joint school board and was founder of the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Parents were especially active in those days since the families who were moving into the area were especially interested in good education for their children. PTO's and PTA's and the Pennsbury Education Association were motivated to plan fundraisers and projects to earn money for scholarships. The first graduating class of this new Pennsbury system was in 1948-49 and the PTA gave scholarships of $200 each to two graduating seniors who went on to college.
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The arrival of the $450 million U.S. Steel Fairless Works in 1951 radically changed the community in every aspect. It was during this time that Medill Bair formed his dream of an organization specifically focused on bringing together resources to help students who could not afford to attend college without financial help. For some students the idea of continuing education after high school would be a first in their families.
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In 1953-54 he began peppering local educators and civic leaders about his idea of a home-grown organization that would offer financial assistance "to see that every boy or girl, having attended The Pennsbury Schools, can advance to higher learning of his or her choice, regardless of race, color or creed, if unable to continue financially, otherwise." ​​​​​​
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In the fall of 1955 Mr. Bair invited several businessmen to a dinner at the historic Washington Crossing Inn to talk about helping defray the cost of continuing education for deserving Pennsbury graduates. On that memorable evening it all came together, and the idea of a scholarship fund gained the needed support. ​​​
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The need for an organization to manage the scholarship funds appears to have been reinforced by the announcement September 26, 1956, of the clause in the probated will of William H. Hayes that would provide scholarships for students and graduates of Pennsbury Schools. ​​​​​​As President Clifford Nelson explained in an article c. 1961, in the Courier-Times newspaper:
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​By the fall of 1956, Superintendent Medill Bair had gathered around him like-minded, supportive school district residents who formed the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation, and it was incorporated November 13, 1956. He was named Secretary and Clifford Nelson, a Yardley insurance broker, was named President.
Thus one man's dream turned into reality. The Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation was born, with a goal of raising one million dollars (which was achieved in 1994).
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​By the spring of 1957, initial gifts from civic and education organizations, as well as from businesses and individuals throughout the Pennsbury community, allowed the foundation to award $2580 in scholarships to its first six recipients.
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​​​​​​​​​Even as these pioneering directors were creating what is believed to be the first scholarship organization in the nation for a public school at the high school level, Soviet aggression was being felt. Russian troops were pouring into Budapest to crush Hungary’s ill-fated bid for freedom from Kremlin rule. It was this type of aggression that would make the flight of Sputnik in early October 1957 so much more freighting to the Free world. The surprise launch of Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, gave cause to worry that the United States was falling behind in science and created a national clamor to beef up the teaching of science at every level from kindergarten through graduate school. Along with that came a search for more money to pay for training American brains and the fledgling scholarship organization had added incentive to provide scholarships for Pennsbury graduates.
In 1959, Medill Bair left Pennsbury to become Superintendent of schools in Lexington, Massachusetts and was replaced by Dr. Charles S. Muschell. Dr. Muschell died in 1964 and was replaced by William W. Ingraham. In 1966, under Pennsylvania Act 499, School District Reorganization, the school districts ceased to be a part of the county structure and uniform tax structures were mandated. As a result, the Pennsbury Joint School Board was replaced by the Pennsbury School District with William Ingraham as the first District Superintendent. Mr. Ingraham had worked with Medill Bair and was very supportive of the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation. He worked to combine the administration of all Pennsbury scholarships, including the PTO’s and PTA’s and the Pennsbury Education Association, under the umbrella of the PSF. Note that there are scholarships with special restrictions that are managed by the Pennsbury Guidance Office.​
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It was Medill Bair’s vision, dream and leadership, and those whom he inspired over the years, that resulted in the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation being firmly established, and it has become an important force in the lives of many in the Pennsbury community.
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Compiled from the files and writings about the history of the PSF by Wanda Long and online research regarding Bair's departure and his successors - Hal Long
