In this episode of An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action, Matt Robbins is my guest. Matt is the Superintendent of the Daviess County Public Schools in Daviess County, Kentucky. What’s different about Matt is that he didn’t follow a traditional route to the superintendency. His background is in finance. In this episode, we talk a little about how his past experiences help him in his current job. His After Action Review is one all superintendents should be prepared to deal with. What happens when you adopt new routing software for your bus system and it crashes? What happens when the crash occurs RIGHT before the school year begins and you have to postpone the start of school? A really good episode!
BIO: Matt Robbins serves as Superintendent of the Daviess County Public Schools, a district with nearly 12,000 students and 2,000 staff members in 12 elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools.
Matt serves as the team leader for the finance & operations training program for KASA’s NextGen new KY superintendent program and has done this for six years now.
Matt is also President of Kentucky’s Council for Better Education that ensures equity and adequacy of funding for Kentucky’s public schools. As a part of this work, Matt has most recently led Kentucky public schools districts in a lawsuit that involves funding private schools in Kentucky. That case is now on appeal before the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Matt led the Daviess County Public Schools district in completing a new five year strategic plan in June 2022. This was done in partnership with Studer Education and Dr. Deanna Ashby. This plan defines the district’s mission and vision along with charting a detailed plan of measurable actions that will guide the district through 2027 and beyond.
He previously served as the district’s assistant superintendent for finance and operations, overseeing a budget of $142.7 million. Under his leadership, the district’s finance, facilities, food services and transportation departments have earned “exemplary” ratings from the Kentucky Department of Education.
Matt served as senior accountant at Riney, Hancock & Co. CPAs from 1993-96 before joining the Owensboro Public Schools district as assistant superintendent for finance and maintenance in 1997. Since joining DCPS, Matt has also served as accounting manager, business manager and director of finance. He has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Kentucky and earned a master’s degree in education administration and superintendent endorsement from the University of Louisville in 2012.
Matt has been married for 21 years to his wife Luanne and has three children – Olivia, Lily Grace, and Brady. He loves spending time involved with youth sports, golf, and hunting. Matt has two dogs – Sophie (King Charles Cavalier Spaniel) and Reagan (English crème Golden Retriever). Matt is an enormous UK sports fan, particularly football and basketball. His favorite movies are Tombstone, Forest Gump, and Dead Poets Society. Matt enjoys all types of music and arts, including Bluegrass Music (ROMP festival), country music, modern pop, and artists such as Billy Joel, Elton John, Adelle, and Bruno Mars.
