Bargender named new leader of

Abby K-12

By Ross Pattermann

The search for a new superintendent for the Abbotsford School District is officially over. And as it turns out, Sherry Baker’s replacement is not only familiar with the district, he’s already here.

Abbotsford Middle/ High School principal Ryan Bargender was selected to be Baker’s replacement in closed session at the school board’s monthly board meeting on Monday night. The news was delivered on the district’s official Facebook page early Tuesday morn- ing, and it highlighted Bargender’s years of service and dedication to the district and education.

“Ryan has served the past seven years as the middle/high school principal for Abbotsford, and has been a strong student and community advocate,” the press release read.

Bargender will officially transition into the role of superintendent on July

1,2021.

There will also likely be several other new hires in the coming months for the district. During Monday’s meeting, the board approved a motion to begin looking for an additional full-time math teacher and a phys. ed/athletic director for the 2021-22 academic year.

The district has chosen to go in a different direction than a shared athletic director, with the board voting last month to break from the current joint athletic director that Ahbbotsford shares with Colby though Jerry Smith will remain as Colby’s AD.

The need for more personnel comes as a result of continued growth in the Abbotsford School District. Baker noted that in the years since she accepted the role of superintendent in 2016, the district has expanded by nearly 100 students.

See ABBY K-12/ Page 8 Abby

“As principals and administrators, we always sit down and talk about ‘How are we moving this (district) forward?’ ‘What’s the plan?’” Baker said. “Every year in March the next step in this discussion is posting positions, and the middle and high school has found itself growing at a fairly quick rate.”

Over the course of the last several years, the district has addressed the changing demographic of the student body, adding multiple dual language and English Language Learner instructors.

“Those programs are just excelling,” Baker said. “Students in those programs continue to outperform their regular education peers.”

Other positions, such as teachers aides, an assistant bookeeper and full-time teachers at the elementary school level, have been added as the district’s numbers expanded from 686 to 788 in the last seven years. Bargender noted that the high school population alone has increased by over 40 students during his time as principal.

“If you just did a rough breakdown of that, just at the high school level, that’s almost like two whole classrooms,” Baker said. “If that were the middle school or elementary, that would be two separate classrooms that need to go through all the sections.”

Baker said that the math department is struggling to find space for the recent influx of students, and with more students coming in to grade school, they will also need a phy ed teacher to handle the increased work load.

The recurring cost from these new positions and curriculum has been roughly $775,000, but Baker said the district’s revenue has increased at a greater rate alongside that higher operating cost.

“I would say the vast majority of those monies are people,” Baker said. “But if you look at our budget in 2016-17, our revenue was $10 million. In 2020-21, our revenue was $13 million — the revenue has increased at a greater rate than our expenses. We’ve added a lot of staff and software and programming, but it’s all been to respond to our student population. We’re in a strong place and our students are thriving.”

Maintenance supervisor Mason Rachu informed the board about the district’s ongoing pool repair project on Monday. Rachu said there’s more asbestos that needs to be removed than previously thought, and the cost to do that would be roughly $50,000.

Rachu also told the board that in order for the pool to be fully up to date with current safety codes, the pool’s tiled surface will need to be completely removed. The cost to repair the tile would be an additional $130,000 on top of the already $700,000 price tag.

If the board chose not to replace the tile, Rachu said there are other means of repairing the surface that would not be as costly, but would still be up to code and allow the project to stay within budget.

Baker said that the district has raised around $1 million toward matching the FEMA grant for a storm shelter/mutli-purpose room. The board learned from Jordan Buss of JBAD Solutions that approval for the grant has been delayed at the federal level, but Buss still expects the district to qualify for the grant.

Other business

_ The board approved a motion to accept the retirement of Bev Endreas following the 2020-21 school year.

_ The board made a motion approving Joeseph Aguilera as a volunteer track coach.

_ The board passed a motion that will allow concession stands to be open during baseball games at Red Arrow Park and at track meets for the upcoming spring sports season. Social distancing and the recommended CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 will remain in place for those wishing to purchase food items from the concession stands this spring.

_ The board was informed that 54 staff members in district were vaccinated on March 3. The second dose of the Moderna vaccine will be administered on March 31.

_ The board approved a motion to allow baseball games and track meets to use Wednesdays in late May and early June to make up postponed events.