Meet the Board
Desiree' Fergus, President
Desiree’ is a lifelong resident of Wyandotte County. She has lived in the Piper School District since 2007. Desiree’ is the mother of 3 boys, including one current Piper School District student, and two Piper Graduates.
Desiree’ graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1997, earned her AGS with a focus in Utilities Management, in 2013 from KCKCC and most recently received her BS in Business Administration in 2023 from Ottawa University. She is employed at the Board of Public Utilities and has been since 2004. Desiree’ holds a RC NERC Certification and is a Senior Qualified System Operator at the Energy Control Center.Desiree’ enjoys serving throughout the community. Her previous leadership positions include BOE Vice-President, Piper Education Foundation BOE representative, Co-chair for the Piper Fest 5K, Kiwanis Club of KC West and Leadership 2000 Alumni – Class 34. She currently serves as a member of the BPU Employee Foundation, District Attorney’s Community Liaison Committee, and has served on the Piper Board of Education since April 2015.You can reach Desiree’ at: desiree.fergus@piperschools.us
Julian Wells, Vice-President
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:julian.wells@piperschools.us.
Allison Armstrong
Allison Armstrong and her husband Rick are lifelong Wyandotte County residents. Allison graduated from Schlagle High School and Rick is a proud JC Harmon Hawk. They have been Piper residents since 1987. Rick is a former Kansas City, KS Chief of Police. Allison worked as a stay at home mom from 1988 until beginning her teaching career at Piper High School in 2006. Rick and Allison are the proud parents of two Piper graduates, Alyssa Zimmerman (Piper '06) and Dr. Caitlin Armstrong (Piper '12).
Allison received a Bachelor's Degree in Art History from the University of Kansas and a Master of Education from Rockhurst University. She has worked as a volunteer with The Junior League of Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, Girls Scouts, and The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. She also volunteered within the Piper School district for many years, serving primarily at the original Piper Elementary and Piper East Elementary in the Art Department. Prior to being hired as a full time teacher, Allison also served as a substituteteacher at all grade levels within Piper Schools. In 2006, Allison was hired as an English Language Arts teacher, where she taught Senior English, Junior English, Oral Communications, Creative Writing, Literature, African-American Literature and Great Novels. In 2009, Allison introduced the Piper High School Senior Project into the curriculum, and she remained as the director of the program until 2018. Allison retired from Piper High School in 2022. You can reach Allison at: allison.armstrong@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:john.bakarich@piperschools.us.
Larry Beashore
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:larry.beashore@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:ashley.biondi@piperschools.com
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:jeb.vader@piperschools.com.
