KNOXVILLE — The Knoxville District 202 school board unanimously approved making Matt Maaske the principal of Knoxville Junior High School.
That occurred during a special board meeting Tuesday night and Maaske was present. He has been the interim principal at KJHS since July 2017.
He was approved for a one-year contract at $70,000. District Superintendent Steve Wilder said all principals are on one-year contracts.
Maaske, 36, was joined by his family during Tuesday night's meeting, including his wife, Molly, and their two kids, 5-year-old Layla and 3-year-old Wyatt. The family lives in Galesburg, but is looking to move to Knoxville so Layla can attend kindergarten in Knoxville schools next fall.
Maaske has been with the district two years as a computer and business teacher and previously taught at Ingersoll Middle School within Canton District 66 for five years before coming to Knoxville Junior High.
Before that, the Freeport native graduated from North Central College in 2003 with a degree in finance and economics and followed that up with a business teacher education degree from Illinois State University in 2011. He continued his education with an administrative degree from the American College of Education in 2013.
Wilder said there were 20 applicants for the position and Maaske was the only internal candidate. He further said he and the board liked the size and quality of the applicant pool.
"I knew Matt was a strong candidate after having worked with him in the first semester, but he really shined through the interview process and really demonstrated, I think, the kind of principal he is capable of being, so we're looking forward to working with him," Wilder said.
Maaske said he has eyed being an administrator for a while and noted his father was a principal locally as well. He looks to build upon what he has already done as interim principal as well as establishing long-term plans. That includes teacher retention as the Land of Lincoln deals with a teacher shortage.
"One of my goals is creating a culture and climate where teachers want to stay, to where I don't have to worry about filling positions on a regular basis, but I also recognize people move and certain situations change, so just trying to stay positive and being as encouraging as possible," he said.
Overall, Wilder believes the transition will be easy, as Maaske has been in the position for months.
"He walked out of school (Tuesday) as the interim and will walk in (Wednesday) as the permanent principal. Kids know who he is, they've been in his class when he was a teacher. They've gotten to know him first semester," Wilder said.
"One of the qualities I love about Matt is that he doesn't put on any fronts. What you see is what you get. He levels with everyone. ... I think people appreciate that level of transparency."
Maaske had a message for students and parents.
"We're just going to keep working to do the best we can to educate the students the best that we know how. I think we have a great staff and a great group of teachers to do that."
Robert Connelly: (309) 343-7181, ext. 266; rconnelly@register-mail.com; @RConnelly_