Next year there will be a new flex time schedule, a new superintendent and now a new head principal as Dr. Greg Mathison announced on Thursday, Feb. 28 that he is leaving MHS. As of next year, Dr. Mathison will be the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the Parkway School District starting with the 2019-2020 school year.

Dr. Mathison received news of his new job on Wednesday, Feb. 27. He has worked at MHS for 12 years and has been the head principal for 9.

Dr. Mathison said that with all the support and love from the community, the decision was a hard one to make.

“I love it here at Marquette and truthfully, I wasn’t thinking I wanted to do anything differently with my career,” Dr. Mathison said. “However, when this opportunity popped up, I had a tug at my heart saying this looks like a job I would truly be interested in.”

Dr. Mathison said that along with working with students, he will also be working with the principals of the schools to ensure all students are given an equal opportunity.

“They want to make sure all kids have opportunity and access to the best education and that’s what really intrigued me,” Dr. Mathison said.

After meeting with some of the Parkway faculty, Dr. Mathison is excited to start his new job. He said everyone he’s met has a positive attitude and he enjoys the atmosphere.

While he is excited to work for Parkway, he will never forget his time at MHS and said he is honored to work in such an exemplary school.

“I want the people here to know that I care for them,” Dr. Mathison said. “I care for our community, I care for our staff and I care for our students. I take a lot of pride in Marquette and I really hope students feel like they got a great education and I hope they are proud to be a Mustang.”

Aaarushi Boinepally, sophomore, has enjoyed having Mathison as a principal and beleives he did his best to support the students.

“Mathison had a lot of support for the sports, clubs and students at Marquette,” Boinepally said. “To me, that’s what really mattered.”

Phoebe Owenby, Dr. Mathison’s secretary, is new to her current position this year. Owenby said she enjoys Dr. Mathison’s leadership qualities and hopes the new head principal has a similar leadership quality.

“You always know where you stand with him because he’s direct,” Owenby said. “He’s also very accommodating and tries to make it a win-win.”

With all changes regarding flex time, Owenby also hopes the new principal brings knowledge and stability.

“I hope we can start next year off without missing a beat,” Owenby said. “We all realize the flex time is new territory so I hope the new person has enough experience to guide us through  and help us make improvements.”