The Festus R-6 School District has a new assistant superintendent and a new assistant principal.
Board of Education members voted unanimously March 18 to hire Jonathan Earnhart as assistant superintendent for business services and personnel and Matt Boyer as assistant principal at Festus Middle School.
Both begin their new jobs July 1.
Earnhart
Earnhart currently is the superintendent at the Crawford County R-2 School District in Cuba and will replace Nathan Holder, who is leaving the Festus district at the end of this school year for a job as assistant superintendent in the Lee’s Summit School District.
The Festus School District will pay Earnhart about $145,000 next school year, district spokesman Kevin Pope said. Earnhart said his current annual salary at Crawford County is approximately $130,000.
Holder’s annual salary is $142,000.
Earnhart, 48, of Cuba was chosen from among 10 applicants, Pope said.
“Mr. Earnhart has a wealth of knowledge, particularly in the areas of school finance and personnel,” Festus Superintendent Link Luttrell said. “Eight candidates were interviewed for the position, but Mr. Earnhart stood apart from all others.”
Earnhart said he is impressed with the Festus School District’s reputation.
“I think, when I look at the district, it checks all the boxes,” Earnhart said. “It’s a high-achieving district. There’s a great climate for the employee, which is evidenced from their numerous best places to work awards. It’s evident there’s a lot of community support for the district.”
Earnhart has 15 years’ experience in public school administration after working as a teacher. He has been the Crawford County School District superintendent since 2017.
He has a master’s degree in education administration and a specialist’s degree in educational leadership from William Woods University in Fulton, as well as a bachelor’s degree in education from York College in York, Neb.
Earnhart originally is from Cahokia, Ill. He said he and his wife, Angie, have two daughters, and they plan to move into the Festus School District.
“My family is excited about this opportunity because it puts us a lot closer to our family in St. Louis and our family across the river in Illinois,” Earnhart said.
Boyer
Boyer, the principal at Lincoln Intermediate Center in the Farmington School District, was hired to replace Kim Neel, a retired teacher who was serving on an interim basis as a Festus Middle School assistant principal.
Festus hired Boyer at a salary of $85,000 a year, Pope said. Boyer said his current salary in Farmington is about $80,000.
Boyer, 37, was chosen out of 72 applicants, Pope said.
“Throughout the interview process, Mr. Boyer continuously stood out as a good fit for our school community,” said Festus Middle School Principal Jacob Munoz. “He comes with good building-level leadership experience, which will benefit us all as we work towards returning to a ‘normal’ year.”
Boyer said he’s eager to start his new job at Festus.
“I guess growing up in the St. Louis area, you hear positives and negatives about neighboring school districts,” Boyer said. “I’ve never heard a negative about Festus.”
Boyer and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters and live in Oakville.
Boyer has worked in the Farmington district since the 2017-2018 school year. He was assistant principal at Lincoln Intermediate his first year and has been its principal since 2018. Prior to that, he had been a classroom teacher at various levels.
He has a master’s degree in educational administration and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Baptist University.
Boyer has been hired for a position Festus district officials previously considered filling in early 2020, but the hiring process was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which paused all committee work, Pope said.
Instead, Neel was recruited to serve temporarily as the Festus Middle assistant principal this school year, with a $70,000 salary.
The assistant principal position first was vacated when Jacob Munoz was promoted from that job to become principal of the Middle School at the start of this school year. When Munoz was assistant principal in the 2019-2020 school year, his annual salary was $76,000.