ADAMS TWP – Zach Matusak was hired as the new athletic director for Mars Area School District at a meeting Tuesday night.

Matusak will fill the role vacated by the retiring Scott Heinauer, who held the position for more than 30 years.

Heinauer announced his retirement in June. His last day as athletic director is Aug. 5.

The board also approved the hiring of Douglas Skelley as assistant principal at the high school. Skelley is dean of students at Meadville Area Senior High School. His salary will be $90,000.

Matusak is director of athletics at Sharon School District. He previously served as assistant athletic director at Haddonfield School District and as assistant strength and conditioning coach at Temple University. His salary at Mars will be $85,000.

“The process was very smooth. In our hiring, it wasn’t about who was good versus who was bad,” said superintendent Mark Gross. “We had some very, very good candidates, and it was a very difficult decision for both positions. It basically came down to who was the best fit and who we felt had the same vision that we were aspiring to have.”

Gross said the district received more than 20 applicants for each position. He added that the two hires do not have official start dates yet.

“We’d like them to start as soon as possible, to get acclimated, but we are going to work with their current districts to make sure that their current district has the appropriate time to replace them,” Gross said.

The board also approved a proposed policy revision which prevents district administrators from simultaneously holding coaching positions. Heinauer held the positions of both athletic director and head varsity football coach, but was not renewed as football coach at the beginning of 2022.

Consulting firm Thomas & Williamson Program Management presented options for a proposed capacity and programming study of district grade levels.

The feasibility study, presented by Jon Thomas, is intended to examine the capacity of school buildings and discuss possible next moves for the district to reconfigure how students are organized.

Thomas explained the potential parts of the study, which is projected to begin in August and finish in November. The study would consist of a review of enrollment projections, a building and systemwide capacity study, a look at grade-level groupings and potential ways to reconfigure them, an examination of special-education services and their organization, and a conceptual cost estimate.

The study will cost the district $19,735.

The board will vote on whether to approve starting the study during its first meeting in August.