Four running for three seats on Abby SB


By Kevin O’Brien
Four candidates, including three incumbents and a challenger, are running for three seats on the Abbotsford School Board on April 1. The top three vote recipients will earn three-year terms on the board.
Candidates include current board members Sharon Archambo, Nathan Jakel and Gary Schraufnagel, along with challenger Frankie Soto.
Soto was the district’s food service director for 27 years and is now semi-retired and working in the Thorp and Medford school districts. Soto’s two daughters graduated from Abbotsford High School, and two of his grandchildren are open-enrolled from Colby into Abbotsford. He previously served three years on the Abbotsford City Council and is a member of the church council at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Curtiss.
Jakel was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board in November. He previously served on the committee that explored consolidation with Colby and is currently the president of the Abby Heat youth softball/baseball board. He is a master plumber at Jakel Plumbing, and two of his three daughter are in the district (a kindergartener and second grader). His youngest is two years old.
Archambo has served on the board for the past five years and is also a member of the Abbotsford Library Board of Trustees and the city’s planning commission. She is also an election poll worker, a volunteer at Abbotsford Elementary and a lector at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Archambo was a special education teacher’s assistant for 28 years, working with students with Autism spectrum disorder. All six of her children and nine of her grandchildren have graduated from Abbotsford High School.
Schraufnagel has served on the board for four terms, a total of 12 years, and previously sat on the board for the Abby Heat program. He is vice president and ag lender at Forward Bank in Colby, and all four of his kids have graduated from Abbotsford.
The candidates were each asked the same four questions; their answers are below:
Why are you running for the Abbotsford
School Board?
Soto: “I’m looking at changes and new ideas. I want my own grandchildren to have the same thing that my children had here. I think they’re lacking some communication between management and staff.”
Jakel: “I grew up in Abbotsford, graduated from Abbotsford High School and I take a lot of pride in the school. I would like to see it continuing on the path it is on. They have a great board right now, and it’s a team I’ve been looking for an opportunity to join.”
Archambo: “Supporting education endeavors for our youth is my passion. I thoroughly enjoy involvement with our youth. I attend many music and athletic activities, as well as those honoring our students. I’ve participated in the Walk to School and attend other school gatherings.”
“I say school plays a vital role in fostering a quality education, but it also needs to meet the emotional health of our children. Working together, we can equip children with the knowledge and integrity so they can succeed as productive, caring and happy citizens, because students today are our leaders tomorrow.”
Schraufnagel: With the passage of another referendum last year, Shraufnagel said he’d like to see that project through to its completion. “I originally got on just because I thought it would be good to know the financial workings of a school district. I understand how businesses run, but public entities are a little different.”
What would you say makes you the best candidate for the job?
Soto: “I’ve been in the School District of Abbotsford for 27 years. I know the school district. I’ve seen good things in the school district. My kids and grandkids have attended and are attending now, and I feel the district deserves a well-deserved pat on the back. For such a small school, they are doing quite well, and I feel like they do things like a bigger school does.”
Jakel: “With three young daughters, I have a pretty vested interest in the school. I just want to see what’s best for all students and staff in that building.”
Archambo: “Trying to do what you can for the success of every student is a priority. Having worked in the school system, I understand the needs of the students.”
Schraufnagel: “I have a good financial background. I bring that to the table when reviewing schools finances. Our existing school board is a good team, and I think a lot of us bring different viewpoints. It kind of makes it a more well-rounded team to work with.”
What would you say are the district’s biggest challenges right now and how do you think the board should address them?
Soto: “I think our biggest challenge is going to be keeping the enrollment at the pace it is now. Also, with the federal government changing, they don’t want to have the Department of Education at the federal level, but hand it off to the state level.”
Soto said he wants to make sure that “every school district in Wisconsin gets a fair share of money if a change happens,” and if Congress takes action to eliminate the Department of Education, he wants to make sure the district stays up-to-date with the changes.
Jakel: “I think the biggest challenge right now is the incoming demographics that are constantly changing. I think the board is very progressive in its policies in adapting to the new demographics that are coming in, constantly adapting to the new languages and staffing needs that are presented with that.”
Archambo: “We need to encourage more parental involvement. With a diverse population, meeting the needs of all I feel is a challenge. Currently, many opportunities are presented, including a recent math family night and Read Across America. The elementary also extended parent-teacher conferences to better accommodate parents. Through NTC, adult English classes will begin in April.”
“I feel the success of every student is a priority. My ear is always open to the community and the school. I will listen and learn of concerns and be pleased with positive feedback.”
Schraufnagel: “I would say the biggest challenges are the biggest opportunities we have as well: a diverse student population and a growing student population. Increased enrollment provides more funding, but the district has also had to keep adding classrooms the last 10 years, he said.
“We have strong dual language staff, and we have some longtime teachers,” he added.
What do you think about federal directives to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and eliminate DEI programs in all schools?
Soto: “At this point in time, I feel that our federal government is headed down the wrong aisle. We are teaching our kids for the years to come. I feel that this is not going to be the right way to do it. Hopefully, Congress steps in.”
Jakel: “My only comment on that is that I’m in support of having decision-making at the local level. Nobody knows the kids in our schools better than those who walk the halls every day. I’m in support of as much local decision-making as possible.”
Archambo: “As far as DEI programs, I feel equity is fairness, and every school should try to be fair. There’s just so much that’s out there, and then it’s rescinded. It’s kind of wait and see what’s going to happen. We have an extraordinary administrator who thoroughly researches this and provides input to the board.”
“I’m heartened that the community has stepped up to meet the district needs in passing two referendums. We have new classrooms and the FEMA building, and in the spring, we will be adding additional classes and upgrades to increase safety. The new school forest is phenomenal.”
Schraufnagel: He said he doesn’t know enough about what’s happening on the federal level to comment, but he remains focused on state-level education policy.
“I’m looking more at funding for public schools.” He said he’s opposed to taking money from public schools and using it to pay for private ones, and he wants to protect state funding for public education.
When it comes to the U.S. Department of Education, he said the impacts of the agency are not something he sees much. “I see more or less what happens to us on the state level.”
“With DEI, I guess there’s levels of confusion with the Title IV stuff that came out. When you start looking at the legal representation we get and how that goes against some of the executive orders that have come down, it just gets to more of a wait-and-see attitude I guess.”
Frankie Soto
Nathan Jakel
Sharon Archambo
Gary Schraufnagel


