MFISD taps Gasaway as superintendent
Dr. Jeff Gasaway was named the lone finalist for superintendent of the Marble Falls Independent School District on March 6. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway was named the lone finalist for superintendent of the Marble Falls Independent School District by the Board of Trustees on Monday, March 6. Per state law, Gasaway must wait 21 days before signing a contract to make it official.
Gasaway’s commitment to the district’s core values and understanding of the community played major roles in the board’s decision, board President Kevin Naumann told DailyTrib.com after the meeting.
“He gets the vision because he’s been here and been living it,” Naumann said. “He’s also one of the most humble, kind, and most kid-centered people you can find.”
Stability was another driving force behind the board’s selection. Gasaway has been with MFISD since 2016. His wife, Kara Gasaway, is the principal of the district’s Spicewood Elementary School.
“We don’t want people with big agendas who are trying to build their own careers,” Naumann said. “We want someone to come in and be an advocate for the kids.”
Trustees also relied on community input from a survey in February.
“We had a really good response from the survey,” Naumann said. “The responses were overwhelming in favor of Dr. Gasaway.”
The board received 24 applications from candidates across the country, but, ultimately, Gasaway was the only one interviewed for the position.
“We opened it up to anybody because we felt we had a duty to the community to look,” Naumann said. “We had one internal application, and we decided it would be good to give (Gasaway) an opportunity first because of his loyalty to us. We did that, and after the conversation with him, we just felt like that was where we were supposed to be.”
As the new superintendent, Gasaway aims to attract talented administrators and educators along with supportive parents and determined students to bolster MFISD’s status as a “district of destination.”
“One of things we’ve got to do in public education is make sure people don’t forget about us,” Gasaway said. “I want our community to look at us as first, as the lighthouse of any place to go. We have private school choices, but I want people to look at Marble Falls ISD and want to be a part of what we’re doing.”
Gasaway believes his former duties as deputy superintendent, which included overseeing personnel, will help immensely as the district’s leader.
“I hope that we’re able to do some unique things to recruit and retain teachers to keep them a part of something special,” he said.
The board voted 6-0 to name Gasaway superintendent. Trustee Kevin Virdell abstained.
The search for a new superintendent followed the resignation of Dr. Chris Allen, who is now superintendent of the Midway Independent School District near Waco. Two weeks after Allen’s resignation announcement, trustees named Gasaway interim superintendent.