The North Platte Board of Education wasted little time in naming a successor to retiring superintendent Dr. Jeff Sumy.
After a special meeting held the morning of Saturday, Dec. 6, a promotion was announced for Karl Matt, now in his 12th year with the district. Matt, 39, is in his 17th year as an educator overall, spending the past two-plus years as North Platte High School principal.
Matt officially starts his duties on July 1, 2015.
“I am excited for the opportunity to be the next superintendent of schools for the North Platte School District,” Matt said. “Thanks to our great students, parents, staff and community, our students have achieved at a very high level academically. The North Platte community has treated my family well and now is also providing a great education for my own two children.
“I look forward to the opportunity to work with the board of education, the staff and the community to continue to ensure the highest quality education for our students.”
Matt originally taught math in the district while coaching the boys basketball team. He briefly moved to the Excelsior Springs district as a math teacher and coach before returning to accept the junior high school principal and athletic director position in 2008. He became the high school principal in 2012 with the retirement of Roger Giger.
Matt also continues to serve as the girls basketball position, having helped the Panthers to the playoffs each of the past six seasons including fourth-place state finishes in Class 2 during in 2011 and 2012.
Matt said the decision on his future role with the team will be made after the conclusion of this season.
Sumy tendered his letter of resignation to the board during closed session of the regular Nov. 19 meeting. The board opened the job to internal applications at that time. Per board policy, there is no requirement to open the job to outside candidates if a qualified individual applies from within the district.
Matt said his biggest priority will be to maintain the district’s improvement in academic measures and its solid financial health.
“I want to commend you on helping the district maintain our high accreditation on the Annual Performance Report,” board president Mike Fisher said in congratulating Matt. “Being one of the top five school districts in the state is due to your leadership.”
Matt graduated from Platte County High School in 1993 and earned his Bachelor’s degree in mathematics education in 1998 from Missouri State University — then Southwest Missouri State University. He also owns a master’s degree in education leadership from Baker University (2006) and an education specialist’s degree in superintendency from Northwest Missouri State (2011). He plans to begin doctoral studies this summer in a still-to-be-determined program.