Ellsworth Community School District Superintendent Barry Cain considers himself lucky to have spent a big chunk of his career in his hometown. But all good things must come to an end: Cain’s last day is July 10.

“I’m lucky enough to be in a position to do this at age 57,” Cain said. “After 34 years of doing this (working in education), I’ve loved what I’ve done. I know I’ll miss it, but I’ve always thought of going into a new career. I just felt it was the right time to do it.”

Cain’s official last day will overlap 10 days with new Superintendent Brian Nadeau, who has spent the last few years as Plum City’s superintendent. Nadeau will begin his role officially on July 1. The overlap will ensure a smooth transition during a time when a few construction projects are starting in the district.

“He’s been great and really, really working hard where he’s at and getting involved here,” Cain said.

Cain spent 16 years as superintendent of Ellsworth schools. He taught high school social studies at Ellsworth in the mid-1990s, a time when he also coached wrestling. After earning his administrator’s license, he served at Menomonie High School and Meyer Middle School in River Falls in assistant principal roles. He returned to Ellsworth High School as assistant principal in 2000, became the principal in 2007 and assumed the superintendent position in 2008.

Cain was drawn into education because of his own experience as a kid, seeing what teachers and coaches do. He believes those who go into teaching do so after being impacted by a role model.

“I enjoyed school, learning and athletics,” Cain said. “I saw it as an opportunity to continue in those areas. I just always felt that I’m a pretty passionate person about what I do. Sharing information was always a passion of mine.”

While Cain enjoyed working in River Falls, which he called a quality school district with “great people and great friends,” when he saw the opportunity to come back to Ellsworth, he jumped on it.

“Being a graduate from here was a real draw,” Cain said. “From teaching here and being around so much, I knew what kids were like, what parents were like in Ellsworth. I knew it was a really great place to be. That hasn’t changed. Kids come here to have a good time. They come here to learn. They are respectful to teachers and the community supports its schools. I knew I would enjoy being here.”

Times have changed considerably since Cain went into education. Obviously, technology has become much more advanced and with that, social media. He actually misses the days when he would receive phone calls from people in the community wanting to discuss an issue. Instead, they now head to social media to complain, instead of having a conversation. Many times, when people are riled about something, the phone remains silent, he said. But the keyboards click furiously.

Cain is particularly proud of how he and school district staff were able to bring the community together early on in their strategic planning processes.

“Over 100 people put together our first strategic plan,” Cain said. “That to me was a huge step forward in our district because it gave us an honest look at who we were. It led to a plan that addressed our needs, from all sorts of people. We did these things because of our strategic plan, we could say. That vision that was developed by everyone really moved us ahead as a district: To get the community’s support of our needs and support our vision.”

The elementary project was a big project in the district. Cain said it took a lot of communication within all the district’s communities to move away from the smaller schools that needed so much work. The last two remaining elementary schools, Hillcrest and Prairie View, combined into the new Ellsworth Elementary building in 2017.

“It’s not that we got a building built, but that we had a community that believed in the vision,” Cain said. “That we could have the community trust us enough.”

That led him into speaking about the district’s referenda in general, whether it’s been an operational or a facilities referendum.

“It’s not about winning something. It all centers around the community believing enough in what we say, what we’re presenting is truthful,” Cain said. “People can agree or disagree with what I do or why I do it, but it’s about integrity. I’ve never been here to win or lose something. I’ve been here to do what I believe is right and I state why I do what I do. I think that’s carried us a long way.”

Cain is grateful as well for the excellent school boards with whom he has worked. He talked about board members who have been willing to take chances and take on leadership roles in the community.

“Board member after board member after board member through time, to put themselves out there the way they do, to stick to a plan. I was very lucky to have them,” he said.

Those board members and school staff were a big reason the district made it through the Covid pandemic, he added.

“We were proud of how the admin team, they just dropped everything and that was their life, to get the community information and a plan as fast as they could, how we had to go to online learning,” Cain said. “What they did over 7-8 days was absolutely remarkable. The staff’s willingness and the families’ ability to accept. We were able to function. We were able to move ahead. They generally want to support us.”

Early in his tenure, Cain dedicated much of his time to educating the public about the school district’s budget and needs, how a district’s finances really operate.

“People had some ingrained thoughts about how we spend money,” he said. “As a superintendent, I always felt people treated me with respect and appreciated what we did as a school district.”

Cain will be starting a career in the insurance industry, focusing on commercial, property and casualty and health benefits. He begins in late July and he’s excited.

“Areas of sales have always been interesting to me. I’ve worked with health insurance reps and employee benefits for years. That way I think it will still allow me to work with people. Each time I’m working with clients, I’ll be working on another project. Identifying their needs and providing them with what they need. It will just be a tighter area of focus.”

Cain will still be living and working in and around Ellsworth. He plans to remain a member of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce and Family Resource Center boards if at all possible.

“The business I’m working for is wholeheartedly for it,” he said. “I plan to be involved in a lot of things in any way I possibly can.”

He will have to learn not to have his job on his mind 24 hours a day, he admitted. He’s going to miss his colleagues like crazy.

“And seeing the elementary kids in the hallway every day. Seeing a 4YK student in the hallway with a backpack twice the size of them,” Cain said. “Being at all the events and talking with people and seeing the kids proud of what they’ve done. But I will still be around.”