Jason Arndt, jarndt@shawanoleader.com
Another administrator is leaving the Shawano School District.
Tami Bagstad, associate principal at Shawano Community Middle School, will resign, effective June 30, to become principal of Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School in Clintonville.
Shawano School District Superintendent Gary Cumberland said Bagstad would be missed, but he understood her decision.
“Being a principal is what she has wanted,” he said.
“She is very personable and relates well with the students and has a positive attitude,” Cumberland said. “She was the director of our summer school program and put it all together.”
“This is a growth opportunity for me. … I have had a wonderful experience here at Shawano,” Bagstad said. “This community is very lucky to have the caring, understanding and driven staff to do what is best for students, and I hope they realize all of the work that everyone puts into helping all of our students experience success.”
In addition to moving into the principal chair, Bagstad will also get a raise. She earned $70,000 this year in Shawano, according to the state Department of Public Instruction, and will earn $80,000 at Rexford/Longfellow.
She also won’t have to make the daily commute from Clintonville, where she lives with her husband, Lance, who is principal of Clintonville High School.
Lance Bagstad was not involved in the elementary school’s principal search, said Tom O’Toole, superintendent of the Clintonville School District.
“He could not even review the applications,” O’Toole said.
Clintonville received 25 applications to replace Kris Straumann, who will retire at the end of the school year. She has served as the principal of the kindergarten through fourth grade school for 17 years.
Tami Bagstad was one of two finalists and impressed the Clintonville administrators and School Board.
“She has the energy level and knowledge of our school district and system and has past administrative experience with (Shawano),” O’Toole said.
Bagstad said her expectations or goals as principal would be “to work with the staff and continue helping them with their professional endeavors, create positive and caring relationships with staff, students, families and community members, and find a way to communicate the importance of education and our schools in order to have a successful society.”
Bagstad earned her bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education K-12 from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1996. She earned a master’s in educational leadership from Viterbo University in La Crosse in 2012.
She previously worked as band director for nine years at Bangor Middle/High School, as ninth-grade learning disabilities teacher for one year at Clintonville High School, and as band director and coordinator of the gifted and talented program for five years at Clintonville Middle School. She also taught life skills to fifth-graders.
She joined the Shawano district two years ago as associate principal.
Bagstad is the fifth administrator to leave Shawano School District since the start of the 2013-14 school year. Superintendent Todd Carlson took a similar job with the Gillett School District just days before the school year started. Shawano Community High School Associate Principal Steve Linssen also went to Gillett to become principal.
SCHS Associate Principal and Athletic Director Tim Mayer left the district in December to pursue a position in the private sector, and district Business Manager Gail Moesch retired in February.
Bagstad said her position to leave was in no way a reflection on the direction or quality of the Shawano district.
“After being an involved member of our (Shawano) leadership team, I can tell you that the decisions we make are all based on best practice and what is best for students,” Bagstad said. “I think that we have great leaders in place who take the time, energy and reflection to keep our schools moving forward. My hope is for the community to have more of an understanding of the decisions of the leadership team, and trust that we are making the best decisions for student success.
“Education has changed greatly in the last 10 years, and is not what many people think it is. I would also hope that more parents are able to visit our schools to see all of the wonderful things that truly happen on a daily basis.”