DES MOINES, Iowa – Tuesday night the Des Moines School Board voted unanimously to approve Matt Smith as the Interim Superintendent for the district after the current Superintendent Dr. Tom Ahart announced he will be resigning this year.

Smith will start as Interim Superintendent on July 1st and serve for one year. He has been with the district since 2010 when he started as North High School’s Principal and has served in many other leadership roles in the meantime, most recently as Associate Superintendent since 2018.

Smith plans to develop more collaboration between faculty, teachers, and staff across the district. “In leadership that’s a team game. It’s not an individual one. We have great unique individual leaders across our district and at every level. That only is going to be effective for us if we all work together and all work collaboratively for the benefit of our students, staff, and families,” Smith said.

While Smith is serving as Interim Superintendent Des Moines Public Schools will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.

Smith doesn’t know yet if he will be applying for the job. “I think where my mind is right now is that we get all of our leaders and all of our teachers and all of our staff operating around the same goal the same mission and vision around what we’re here to do for children and families,” Smith said.

Until his contract officially starts Smith will be shadowing Superintendent Ahart to get ready to hit the ground running when he starts on July 1st.