Decatur woman donates thousands to schools for iPads

Decatur resident Meredith McCoyd once again has given a large donation to City Schools Decatur that’ll fund the purchase of more iPads at Renfroe Middle School and in the Exceptional Student Services Department. The donation, to be delivered in $10,000 installments and not to exceed $50,000, was approved last week by the school board. Last June McCoyd donated $100,000 for Renfroe iPads, and in December 2012, donated $500,000 to the Decatur Educational Foundation.

McCoyd, a former sales representative for Abbott Laboratories, was the lead whistle blower against Abbott for illegally marketing the anti-seizure drug Depakote, according to news reports. McCoyd and three other whistle blowers were reportedly awarded $84 million by the federal government and another $22 million in state-level claims.