Lake Forest School Boards Name Matt Montgomery New Superintendent

LAKE FOREST, IL — The outgoing Lake Forest school boards hired an incoming superintendent at a joint special meeting Monday.

Matt Montgomery, superintendent of Revere Local School District in northeastern Ohio, will take over as superintendent of Lake Forest School District 67 and Lake Forest Community High School District 115 in July after both boards unanimously approved a contract.

District 67 Board President Justin Engelland welcomed Montgomery to Lake Forest as joint superintendent of the two districts.

"It is an extremely special community," Engelland said. "This has been a hard year, but I think especially within this difficult year it's really brought out much of the best of what makes Lake Forest such a special place to be."

District 115 Board President David Lane congratulated Montgomery and thanked board members and others who assisted with the search process.

"We now have a new superintendent. Very excited," Lane said. "Thank you all, and really look forward to several good years of work together."

Lane is one of four members of the District 67 and District 115 who will depart next month following last week's elections. Lane did not seek another term, but District 115 Board Secretary Ted Moorman was defeated in his attempt at reelection. Only two incumbents ran in District 67.

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During a superintendent finalist forum last month, Montgomery said he expected the challenge of learning to manage a pair of school boards and districts in a new community to be daunting.

"Anytime you join a new community as the new superintendent, the first year you can just assume that you're not going to see your family, because of the amount of work it takes to inculcate yourself into the culture of that district," he said. "Balance is something that is not easily achieved, and I think that it has to be purposefully constructed in such a way to ensure that my time is being spent, across the board, in the different stakeholder groups, in an equitable way, so there is a presence as I work to understand the community."

Montgomery was not present at the Monday evening special board meeting, but in a joint statement released by the districts after the vote, the incoming superintendent said he was humbled to have the opportunity to lead the two Lake Forest public school districts.

"I look forward to beginning the journey of developing relationships with staff, students, and the school community; building on past successes, and creating our future together,” he said.

Montgomery started his teaching career in 2006 as a high school teacher in Canfield, Ohio, before becoming a principal and later superintendent of Waterloo Local Schools in Atwater, Ohio, according to the statement.

Revere Local Schools District, based in Richfield, Ohio, and extending between Akron and Cleveland, includes two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. According to the Ohio Department of Education, Revere schools spent more than $12,000 per student, above the state average of less than $9,900. By contrast, Lake Forest High School spends more than $27,000 per student, while District 67 elementary schools spend more than $22,000 per student, according to the Illinois Department of Education.

Patch has requested a copy of the districts' contract with Montgomery. Its details will be added here when received.

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