Shelbyville Central Schools Board of Trustees has chosen Dr. Matt Vance as the district’s new superintendent.  Vance will assume the position effective July 1, 2022, upon the retirement of current superintendent Mary Harper.

Vance is currently serving in his eighth year as the superintendent in nearby Rush County Schools, with 27 years of overall educational experience. He started his career at Greensburg High School as a teacher and coach, continuing on to Greenfield-Central High School where he taught, coached and later served as athletic director and assistant principal. He was next principal at Tri Jr./Sr. High School and then assumed that same position at his alma mater Rushville High School, becoming superintendent of Rush County Schools in 2014.

As a side note, Vance actually started his coaching career in 1992 at Shelbyville High School while attending college, coaching football under Scott Olinger.

Vance says Shelbyville, school and town, is a good place.

He notes being hired in February offers a good transition period for both Shelbyville and Rushville.

He says part of the homework in getting ready for Shelbyville is learning the ongoing construction projects.

A graduate of Franklin College, Vance went on to earn a master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University before earning his Education Specialist and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana State University.

“This is the second time since I have been on the Board that we have undergone a superintendent search and we hit it out of the park both times,” said School Board President Curt Johnson. “Mary Harper has been a great steward of our schools and we are going to miss her. However, with Matt coming on board, we will not miss a beat. Matt is a great leader, full of energy and ideas that will drive our organization to continued excellence.”

Vance and his wife, Jaime, have two sons. Jake is a freshman at Olivet Nazarene University and Austin is a junior in high school at Rushville.  

Austin's role on the Rushville Lions football team could put some pressure on the new superintendent in just his second month on the job.  Shelbyville will play at Rushville in Week 2 of the season.  It's the first meeting of the programs since 2012 and it happens as Vance makes the move from Rushville to Shelbyville.