School Archives
W. Dayton Keyes, Jr.
1948–1957
School leadership
District Superintendents
The administrators who have led the Maroa-Forsyth school district from its formation in 1948 to the present.
The position of district superintendent was created when the Maroa-Forsyth Unit School District formed in 1948. Originally, the high school principal also served as superintendent.
The 1962–63 school year was the first in which the superintendent and high school principal were separate positions.
John E. Kitowski
1957–1959
Melvin Nicol
Interim, 1960
Milo Watson
1960–1962
Robert A. Paxson
1962–1964
Richard Irvin
1964–1986
Steve Stenger
1986–2006
Mike Williams
2006–2017
John Ahlemeyer
2017–2021
Kris Kahler
2021–2023
Jeffrey Holmes
Co-Interim, 2023–24
Leo Johnson
Co-Interim, 2023–24
Adam Ibbotson
2024–present
Before district consolidation
Early Superintendents
In early school history, the words superintendent and principal were sometimes used interchangeably. At some dates the positions were held by the same person; at other times they were separate. During certain periods, the superintendent also oversaw eight one-room schoolhouses in the Maroa area.
After the 1919–20 school year, the superintendent named in each Illinois School Directory is the high school principal. Because the distinction between the two positions was not always clear, this list reflects the best information currently available.
- 1898–1902William Fry
- 1902–1907Unknown
- 1907–1909D. Frank Fawcett
- 1909–1910No superintendent listed
- 1910–1912John McLeod
- 1912–1913R. H. Perrott
- 1913–1915Leona F. Bowman
- 1915–1917Lee R. Blohm
- 1917–1918Robert J. Robinson Resigned December 1917 due to illness
- 1918–1919S. T. Walker
- 1919–1920Roy Steele
Sources and research notes
Superintendents were verified through Maroa-Forsyth High School yearbooks when available. An additional source for 1856–1901 is Catalogue and Course of Study of the Public Schools of Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois, Maroa Board of Education, 1901. The term “superintendent” first appears in that publication in 1898 and originally appears to refer to oversight of Maroa’s first- through twelfth-grade buildings.
William Fry: Catalogue and Course of Study of the Public Schools of Maroa, 1901. The superintendent and high school principal were the same position.
D. Frank Fawcett: Herald and Review, June 5, 1907; Illinois School Directory, 1909–1910, Circular 40.
John McLeod: Herald and Review, May 16, 1910; Decatur Daily Herald, July 9, 1910; Illinois School Directory, 1910–11, Circular 54; Decatur Herald, May 20, 1911.
R. H. Perrott: Illinois School Directory, 1912–1913, Circular 67.
Leona F. Bowman: Decatur Daily Herald, July 4, 1913; Illinois School Directory, 1914–1915, Circular 81; Oracle, Maroa High School yearbook, 1914.
Lee R. Blohm: Decatur Herald, May 4, 1916 and June 17, 1917; Illinois School Directory, 1915–1916; Illinois School Directory, 1916–1917, Circular 106.
Robert J. Robinson: Decatur Herald, December 9, 1917; Illinois School Directory, 1917–1918, Circular 125.
S. T. Walker: Illinois School Directory, 1918–1919, Circular 133.
Roy Steele: Illinois School Directory, Circular 141, 1919.