The Bayfield school board this week named interim Superintendent Leon Hanhardt as the sole finalist for a one-year contract for the superintendent’s position.
Hanhardt served as principal at Bayfield High School before being named assistant superintendent in 2021. He was then named interim superintendent on Feb. 8 after the board terminated the contract of Superintendent Kevin Aten, who had filled the position for almost four years.
Board President Mike Foutz said he thought naming Hanhardt as superintendent after he had worked for the district for eight years made more sense than conducting a full-scale search for the position. He also said he and Hanhardt discussed a one-year contract for the 2022-23 school year, and Hanhardt had agreed to that.
With no further discussion, Board Vice President Debbie Wilhelm moved to name Hanhardt as the finalist for the position, and Amy Davlin, the board secretary and treasurer, seconded the motion. It passed on a 5-0 vote.
Under Colorado law, Hanhardt must be publicly listed as the finalist for the position for 14 days before he can be confirmed in the position, according to the motion read by Wilhelm.
In his superintendent report, Hanhardt said the district is conducting personnel searches for a new assistant superintendent, as well as a new principal at Bayfield Primary School after Derrick Martin is departing from the position after two years.
The board confirmed the hiring of Amy Miglinas as the new BHS principal.
In other action, Hanhardt reported there was one case of COVID-19 reported in the district this week. Under new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, masks are no longer required on district buses, he said.
Hanhardt said he is working with community groups and schools on finding solutions to provide supervised programs for students on Fridays next year as the district starts a four-day school week.
He has discussed a tutoring and enrichment program for third grade through middle school students with the Boys and Girls Club, as well as a possible career pathways program for high school students with Pueblo Community College. Students might be able to receive a certified nursing assistant license or welding and automotive repair certifications at PCC’s campus in Mancos, he said.
Hanhardt also said he is holding discussions with Bayfield Marshal Joe McIntyre about having a school resource officer return to Bayfield schools after not having one for the past few years.
At the start of the meeting, under a new agenda item called Celebrations, the district honored BHS senior Kobe Prior, who is the first athlete to receive the Ray Barron Strength and Honor Fund scholarship. The new foundation honors Barron, a longtime wrestling coach in Colorado and Wyoming, and provides a $10,000 scholarship to a wrestler.
Barron’s son watched Prior at state wrestling in February, BHS wrestling coach Todd McMenimen said.
“It was in the manner that Kobe conducted himself, both in victories and in losses, that proved he had the attributes that Ray Barron believed wrestling can instill,” McMenimen said.
Prior took fifth in his weight class at state to cap his four-year wrestling career. He told the board he plans to use the scholarship to attend the Colorado School of Mines and pursue a degree in electrical engineering.
The board also honored Max Meyers, a BHS junior who was the first student from Bayfield named to the Colorado All State Philharmonic Orchestra in February.
Tiffany Biles, his orchestra teacher at BHS, noted Meyers is an exemplary student and musician who has been playing violin with the high school orchestra since he was in sixth grade.
The next school board meeting in Bayfield is scheduled for March 29.
