Board of Education

Meet the School Board

Pictured from left to right: Larry Beashore, Kim Brown, Jeb Vader, Desiree' Fergus, Julian Wells, John Bakarich III and Ashley Biondi.

Larry Beashore (School Board President)

Larry and his wife Lisa have been residents of Piper since 1993. They have two adult children that attended and graduated from the Piper school district. Larry is a current member and past President of the Piper Optimist Club. He also coached football and baseball at Piper High School and was the district SRO for 8 years, before retiring from the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department in 2018. Larry is currently the Piper School Board president. You can reach Larry at: lbeashore@piperschools.us.

 

Desiree' Fergus (School Board Vice-President)

Desiree’ and her husband Mike are lifelong residents of Wyandotte County. They have lived in the Piper School District since 2007.  All 6 of their children, including two current Piper School District students, have attended Piper schools. 

Desiree’ graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1997, earned her AGS with a focus in Utilities Management, in 2013 from KCKCC. She will receive her BS in Business Administration in 2023 from Ottawa University.  She and her husband are both employed at the Board of Public Utilities and have been since 2004.  Desiree’ holds a RC NERC Certification and is a System Operator at the Energy Control Center.  Desiree’ enjoys serving throughout the community. Her previous leadership positions include BOE representative for the Piper Education Foundation, Co-chair for the Piper Fest 5K, and Leadership 2000 Alumni – Class 34. She currently serves as a member of the BPU Employee Foundation, Kiwanis Club of KC West, District Attorney’s Community Liaison Committee, and has served on the Piper Board of Education since April 2015. Desiree is the Piper School Board Vice President. You can reach Desiree at: dfergus@piperschools.us.

 

John Bakarich

John and his wife Melanie (Feeback) are both lifelong residents of Wyandotte County and while he graduated from Sumner Academy, she is a graduate of Piper High School.  They have 3 boys attending Piper Schools.  John received his BS in Construction Science and Management from Kansas State University. In 2006, he founded Baron Contracting, a Class “A” Commercial General Contractor serving the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.  In January of 2022, he began his second term on the USD #203 Board of Education.

John has strong ties to the local community and other past board appointments include many local non-for-profit organizations such as the American Red Cross, Kansas City Entrepreneurs’ Organization, The YMCA of Wyandotte County, and he is also a graduate of KCKS Leadership 2000.  In 2014, he and Melanie established a foundation, Train It Forward, which is dedicated to teaching lifesaving skills and spreading water safety knowledge to the Kansas City community through free, convenient, and fun based events.  Currently, John serves on the Board of Directors for The YMCA of Greater Kansas City and is a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City Corporate Club.  Other organizations that he is involved with include the Design Build Institute of America, KCAHE, KCKS Chamber of Commerce, Wyandotte Economic Development Council, Lenexa Chamber of Commerce, Lenexa Economic Development Council, Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, Overland Park Economic Development Council, EO Kansas City, and Piper Optimist Club. You can reach John at: johnbakarich@piperschools.us.

 

Ashley Biondi

Ashley Biondi and her husband, Anthony, have been residents in the Piper School District since 2013.  Ashley was a 2002 graduate of Piper High School.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Kansas. She also earned her MSE in Curriculum and Instruction from KU.  They have two children attending Piper schools.  Ashley is an active member of the community and currently is the co-leader of two Girl Scout troops.  She has served on the Piper School Board since 2015.  Ashley has worked for Kansas City, KS Public Schools since 2008. You can reach Ashley at: abiondi@piperschools.com.

 

Kim Brown

Kim Brown and her family have been Living, Loving and Serving the Piper community since 2010.  Kim grew up in Omaha, Nebraska while her husband, Kevin is from the small town of Ida Grove, Iowa. Kim has held leadership roles with both Piper PTA and Piper Booster Club and is a licensed REALTOR®, continuously in pursuit of building trusted relationships that deliver unparalleled service with a heart of hospitality to anyone buying or selling real estate. Kevin works in the football industry and is extremely involved with the Piper Optimist Club. Both are passionate about volunteering their time & serving the youth in the Piper community, where each of them have served in an elected leadership position with Project Graduation. Together, they have five children, with individual Piper roots that range in age from 15-26.  Regardless of the season, you can always count on finding them in purple on the sideline of any activity, competition or sporting event, cheering on Piper Pirates of all ages! You can reach Kim at: kbrown@piperschools.us.

 

Jeb Vader

Jeb Vader and his wife, Polly, have been residents in the Piper School District for over 15 years.  Jeb was a 1998 graduate of Piper High school.  Polly is currently employed with the district as the Coordinator of Real World and Career and Technical Education.  They have three children attending Piper schools.  Jeb is an active member of the community and is a member of the Piper Optimist Club.  Jeb has worked for Farmers Insurance since 2004. You can reach Jeb at: jvader@piperschools.com.

 

Julian Wells

Julian and his wife Jess have been Piper residents since 2004.  Jess is a native of Nebraska, and Julian from Alaska, but they happily call Piper home! They have two daughters currently in the district.  Jess formerly served the Piper District as a School Psychologist.  Julian is the Clinical Manager and Upper Limb Specialist at Arm Dynamics, taking care of children and adults who present with limb absences or deficiencies.  Julian has owned and operated several businesses primarily focused around helping or supporting those needing medical devices.  He is looking forward to the growth of the community and supporting the needs of the district. You can reach Julian at: jwells@piperschools.us.