The superintendent of Bcluw Ben Petty to assume a common role with AGWSR

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Conrad – the superintendent of Bcluw for a long time, Ben Petty, who has previously played a common role with GMG from 2011-2021, will soon take over a new position with another “Alfabet Soup” – AGWSR – starting July 1.

At AGWSR, Petty will replace Erik Smith, who has accepted the common superintendent in New Hampton and Turkey Valley and will start there at the beginning of the new fiscal year. During his term, Smith was divided between Agwsr and Gladbrook-Reinbeck from the 2020-2021 school year, until 2023, when the GR council voted to conclude the agreement and, finally, the employee on Caleb Bonjour as a full-time superintendent to replace it.

In an e -mail to TR, Petty shared his thoughts on opportunities and challenges to take another double role.

“Shortly after their superintendent announced that they are leaving for another position, AGWSR came to ask if I were considering sharing. While at first I was a little hesitant, after a few days to think and consult with the management of my council, I decided to start with a more informal visit with a couple of members of the BCLUW and AGWSR Board, then I had some opportunities to meet their full council and the administrative group. It seems that it will be a good team to work with, there are a lot of positive things in their education programs, and the dimensions of the district and demography have a lot of similarities, ”he said. “While part of my hesitation was based on Bcluw that happened in the next two years in terms of construction projects and planning consolidation in a format with two buildings, I think we have a good team here, at BcluW, to help throughout this process. In addition to sharing costs, the state has additional financial incentives for districts to share the position, and in a period of low levels in the course of state aid, it is certainly a significant financial benefit for both districts. “

Citizen Iowa Falls Times reported that the agreement with Petty is three fiscal years. The GMG School Council voted to conclude its sharing agreement with Bcluw in 2021 and subsequently employee Kym Stein as a full -time superintendent. She gave her official resignation from the position of 2024, and the former executive director of AEA, Joel Pedersen, and then withdrew the former superintendent Gary Sinclair played the provisional role before Chris Petersen was employed by sharing with Baxter.

AGWSR currently operates an elementary school in Ackley, an elementary/middle school in Wellsburg and an Ackley high school (along with preschoolers from both communities), while Bcluw operates an elementary school in Conrad, an middle school and a high school in Conrad. As part of the current facilities improvement plans, the building in the Union, the oldest of the three, is expected to end until the school year 2026-2027. According to the latest figures from the Iowa Education Department, AGWSR serves a total of 586.7 students, while BcluW serves 442.3 students.