Malta Schools Welcome New Supt.

In a year of uncertainty due to COVID-19, Malta Public Schools welcomes Matt Genger as the new superintendent.

"I am very grateful and excited to be a part of this district," Genger said.

Genger knows that Malta has high expectations for its public school district and he looking to continue its tradition.

Genger replaces former Malta Public Schools Superintendent Kris Kuehn, who had held the position for the past 16 years.

"Kris and I have known each other for a long time," Genger said.

Genger was asked by Kuehn if he wanted to be considered for the position.

Genger, who was born and raised in Fairfield, has 36 years of teaching experience and 20 years of experience in administration.

Genger graduated from Fairfield High School in 1979 and then attended Western Montana College in Dillon and graduated with a Bachelors in Elementary Education in 1983. He would earn his Masters Degree from MSU-Bozeman in 2002 and his Superintendent endorsement in 2005.

Genger and his wife Gail have raised three children. Their oldest, Noah, is on his second tour of Saudi Arabia and is expected to return in October. Their second oldest is Ann, who lives in Augusta, and their youngest is Dru, who is in his final year of college at the University of Montana. Matt and Gail have seven grandchildren.

He began his career in 1983, teaching fourth grade in Ekalaka. After one year at Ekalaka, Genger moved to Whitewater to teach fifth and sixth grade. During that time, their oldest son Noah was enrolled as a student at Whitewater Schools.

"I had a friend that was from Whitewater that really talked highly of the people," Genger said.

Genger moved to Augusta in 1986 and taught a variety of grades from third grade to junior high until 1997 when he began working in administration. His first year I administration was spent as interim Elementary Principal in Valier. He then moved to Fairfield to become Elementary Principal in that district for five years. After spending the next three years as Superintendent at Valier, he would spend the next seven years as Superintendent at Shelby Public Schools.

After his years at Shelby, Genger had reached 30 years in education, and he nearly started a new career, but then came the call to become Superintendent in Augusta; a position he kept until last year.

"We had been there and we knew that it would be a good gig," Genger said. "It was a great six years."

At Malta Schools Genger will only focus on the administration aspect of education.

"There is just a lot more to focus on in Malta in administration than there was at Augusta," Genger said. "Here we have a bigger staff, more buildings, and more students."

Genger expects his first year in Malta to be full of observation. It is his hope to make 2020-21 as normal of a year as possible given what the world has encountered with COVID-19.

"We will do the best that we can with what we can given this situation," Genger said.

When asked what he thought of Malta, Genger noted he hasn't been able to do much due to the virus.

Despite not experiencing much that Phillips County has to offer, Genger has noticed that the community is full of things to do. Some of these activities he mentioned included 4-H, FFA, and the various sporting events around Malta.

His first curve ball of the year came a couple of weeks ago during a school board meeting in which the board decided to delay the opening of Malta Public Schools from Wednesday, August 19 to Wednesday, August 26, due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the county.

"With coordinating with our health department, it is our hope that those that have contracted it or have been selected as being close to those people will come off of quarantine by then," Genger said. "We are hoping that it will have run its course and that we can be fully staffed by the first day of school."