Festus Middle School assistant principal Jacob Munoz has received a promotion.
He will be the school’s principal beginning July 1, replacing Joe Willis, who is leaving at the end of the school year to take a new job as assistant superintendent for the Dunklin R-5 School District.
Munoz, 39, of Festus, will be paid about $97,000 as the Festus Middle principal. He was making about $76,000 as an assistant principal.
He was selected from 21 applicants for the job, Festus Superintendent Link Luttrell said.
The Festus R-6 Board of Education voted unanimously Feb. 20 to promote Munoz to principal of Festus Middle, 1717 W. Main St.
Luttrell said district leaders’ familiarity with Munoz and his roots in the community helped him stand out among the applicants.
“He’s a known quantity,” Luttrell said. “He’s invested in the community. His girls go to school here.”
Munoz’s wife, Jessica, is a teacher at Festus Elementary School. The two have four children.
Munoz said he appreciates how Festus Middle staff members have worked with him since the 2015-2016 school year, when he began his assistant principal job there.
“I work with an amazing staff,” he said. “We just have good teachers in the middle school.”
Munoz said it’s important to be able to work well with students in the middle school age group.
“I feel this is a critical age for our students and I enjoy helping them at this time of their lives,” Munoz said.
Festus Middle enrolls 522 students in the seventh and eighth grades.
Prior to joining Festus Middle, Munoz taught in the Hillsboro R-3 School District for eight years and was a Jefferson County Juvenile Youth care worker.
Munoz has a master’s degree in elementary administration from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He also has an administrative certificate and an elementary education teaching certificate. He is expected to complete an education specialist degree in June.