WATERLOO -- The superintendent of a 42,000-student Florida school district was unanimously approved Monday to lead Waterloo Community Schools.

Gary Norris, 57, of Sarasota, Fla., was named Waterloo's superintendent during a brief Board of Education meeting.

He will begin July 1 following the retirement of Superintendent Dewitt Jones. Norris' first-year salary will be $195,000. Other benefits include a travel allowance, a tax-sheltered annuity and a professional growth fund.

"I think we're getting a very qualified, a very energetic person," board member Mike Kindschi said before the vote. "I think he'll be a great asset to our staff and take us into the future."

Board member Lyle Schmitt said Norris' "No. 1 goal" is to improve student achievement and called his hiring "another great fit" following Jones' six-year tenure.

Norris, who has led the Sarasota County School District since 2004, did not attend the meeting but spoke to the Courier by phone.

"I have a strong desire to work with a school board that wants to work as a team on closing the achievement gap and work with at-risk populations of young people," he said. The opportunity Waterloo provides to tackle that problem is what sold Norris on the job.

"I really sensed that the seven board members were really intent on doing that," he said.

Norris started his career in 1972 as a vocal music teacher and became a superintendent a decade later. He holds a doctorate in education leadership from Kansas State University.

Besides Florida, the Kansas native has been a superintendent in his home state and Minnesota. He was also drawn to Waterloo by the opportunity to return to the Midwest.

"Most of my family lives in the central area of Kansas," said Norris. He and his wife, Julie, have two adult children.

Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.