March 17, 2021 – Kewaskum, WI – The Kewaskum School Board announcing today the retirement of superintendent Jim Smasal. A note was sent to parents in the district Wednesday morning.
Good Morning Kewaskum families!
After 9 years of strong leadership, James Smasal, District Administrator of the School District of Kewaskum, announced his intention to retire effective June 30, 2021. In his tenure at Kewaskum, James has tackled many difficult challenges including top 20% in student achievement while being lowest 20% in mill rates in Wisconsin, significant renovations of the school facilities and upgraded athletic fields below budget, built a solid, talented team of effective educators, support staff and leaders.
Most recently, the challenge of keeping our schools open and our students in school during the past year when many districts around the state elected to keep their schools closed for in-person education. We thank James for his leadership, his hard work and efforts in moving our district forward in a positive direction.
As we transition, we are extremely excited to announce that we have promoted Dr. Mark Bazata, current Curriculum Director, to the position of District Administrator. Mark has been with the district since 2014 and has served in several leadership positions.  With the district’s support, Mark received his PhD in 2018 and his District Administrator license in 2019 from Marian University, Fond du Lac. Mark is well qualified to lead and his passion for the School District of Kewaskum and our Community is evident.
Being able to develop talent and promote from within is a WIN-WIN for the school district. Ultimately, it saves money for the district, is more effective and provides for good continuity of leadership. It is also a testimony to the quality and focus of our leadership team within the district over the past 9 years. The Board of Education conducted an extensive interview and voted unanimously to promote Dr. Mark Bazata as District Administrator of the School District of Kewaskum. Board President Jim Leister stated, “Dr. Mark Bazata is a strong match for District Administrator of the School District of Kewaskum. I am very pleased, on behalf of the Board of Education, to welcome Mark in working together to ignite a passion for learning.”
Hiring a District Administrator is one of the most important roles placed on the Board of Education. Please join us in thanking James Smasal as he moves on to a hard earned retirement and embracing and congratulating Dr. Mark Bazata in his new role.
Sincerely,
Jim Leister, President
Tim Ramthun, Vice President
Stephanie Bird, Clerk
Dennis Aupperle, Treasurer
Sue Miller
Doug Gonring
Richard Leitheiser