By Ben Cox
Photos/Special to The Source
As Matthew Moore prepares to step into the superintendent’s role for Jacksonville School District 117, he does so with a familiar mix of humility, preparation and a clear sense of purpose: to build on progress, strengthen what works and keep student outcomes at the center of every decision.
Moore, currently serving as the district’s assistant superintendent, has spent the last three-plus years immersed in the district’s inner workings, learning the financial, operational and instructional systems alongside outgoing superintendent Steve Ptacek.
Unlike many leadership transitions, this one was not born out of emergency or upheaval, but intentional planning.
Superintendent Ptacek says that when the district was choosing its next assistant superintendent, the intention was that the person was going to be set up to be the district’s next superintendent as Ptacek’s retirement looms.
“When the board knew that I was going to retire, we talked about those different options of having an interim and using a search company, but all you have to do is look around the state and see how hard it is for some of these districts to find any viable candidates. There are openings in large attractive districts throughout the state and they are drastically having to alter how they are looking for candidates,” Ptacek points out.
Ptacek says that he and the board discussed the assistant superintendent’s position and turned it into a “long job interview” for a line of succession in the superintendent’s chair.
Before joining Jacksonville’s central office, Moore served seven years as principal at Riverton High School, and had began his career in Peoria as a teacher where Ptacek was his building principal at Peoria Richwoods.
He said moving from building-level leadership to district administration was deliberate.
“One of the biggest gaps I knew I had was in school finance,” Moore explains. “As a principal, you don’t live in the budget world. I wanted to learn that, and I wanted to learn it the right way.”
Moore says having worked with Ptacek before and sharing similar philosophies on things has made the learning process easier. The two share similar philosophies on education—particularly around priority standards, strong teacher autonomy and sustainable instructional systems.
Moore is quick to credit Ptacek’s leadership for stabilizing a district that, not long ago, faced fractured staff relationships, aging facilities and financial uncertainty.
Moore will be handed a district that has three-quarters of its buildings modernized, including a brand new building on the way in the Murrayville-Woodson area. Rather than overhaul systems, Moore says his focus will be refinement, not reinvention.
“I’m not a believer in changing programs just to change them,” he says. “We’ve built strong curricular systems. Our job now is to fine-tune, support teachers and make sure kids leave here ready for life, not just graduation.”
That means increased attention on instructional growth, classroom support and maintaining the district’s philosophy of honoring the “artistry of teaching” without micromanagement.
Among the complex issues Moore will inherit is special education, an area facing statewide staffing shortages and growing student needs. Jacksonville’s long-standing partnership with the Four Rivers Special Education Cooperative remains intact, though governance changes are being discussed at the regional level.
“There’s been no decision to pull out,” Moore says. “That was never said. What was discussed publicly, and appropriately under Open Meetings law, was planning for possibilities, not making threats or decisions.”
Moore recently led the November Jacksonville School District 117 Board of Education meeting. It was Ptacek’s first absence from a board meeting in his tenure.
The district has planned expansion for space in the new Murrayville-Woodson school. Moore also recently joined the Jacksonville Rotary Club, signaling his intent to remain highly engaged with the broader community—a trait that will be crucial as public trust, transparency and school funding remain frequent points of discussion.
“I’m not here to make sudden changes,” Moore says. “I’m here to strengthen what’s working, listen when things aren’t, and make sure students are always at the center of every conversation.”
Ptacek says the district will be in steady hands when he retires in 2027 after 14 years at the helm.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Moore shares as he continues to prepare for his next role leading the district.
