Supt. Wargo will depart to head Cle Elum district

After 14 years with the LaCrosse School District, Superintendent Gary Wargo has accepted a new job in Cle Elum.

Wargo also served as superintendent for the St. John-Endicott School District which is going through a second phase of construction, Wargo said.

“The construction project is set in motion,” Wargo said. “They will start as soon as school is out and will be done by the end of summer.”

The second phase will complete the project for the entire school by removing the second boiler and replacing heating pipes and heat enchangers in the music area, gym and shower room areas and also will replace the old heating system in the elementary gym.

Wargo said it was his intention to leave the small school districts after his sons graduated. His family is originally from Cle Elum, and when the superintendent’s position there opened he had to apply for it.

“It’s the place I couldn’t resist applying for,” he said.

The district encompasses three schools with a total of 850 students.

“I’ll miss seeing the sun 300 days out of the year,” he said. “I’ll miss the community. We’ve really enjoyed it here.”

“I call this ‘my paradise,’ but my wife doesn’t agree with me,” he said with a smile.

Wargo said the main thing he will take with him is the community unity.

Wargo started his education career as a bus driver in 1969 at Kent. He then moved to Anacortes in 1976 and was named the transportation supervisor. Then in 1978, he became the school district’s manager.

In 2000, he came to LaCrosse.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve the kids and people of LaCrosse and St. John-Endicott,” he said.

The LaCrosse School Board has decided to put an interim administration team together for the 2014-15 school year. This will allow the school board to more carefully consider how best to fill the superintendent vacancy.

LaCrosse Principal Doug Curtis will serve as elementary principal and superintendent. Mike Jones will serve as high school principal and continue as technology manager. His teaching load will be reduced.

The board will spend the next several months exploring options and implementing a plan to design an administration for the 2015-16 and future school years.

Wargo said St. John and Endicott are in the process of selecting an interim superintendent to serve those districts next year.

The LaCrosse School Board is hosting a community farewell reception Thursday, June 12, at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria.