“Don’t forget where you came from, never lose sight of where you are going.” This is a sign that hangs in the office of new superintendent Scott Gemes. It is a motto he lives by and one that has brought him back home to the Warsaw School District. 

   Gemes is a Warsaw legacy. 

     “My son will be the fourth generation graduating from here. My grandpa graduated from here, my dad graduated from here and I graduated from here,” Gemes said. 

     Gemes attended the Warsaw school district starting in kindergarten and graduating in 1998.

  He returned to Warsaw to teach mathematics, and then was the athletic director for one year. Gemes worked for Marshall as an athletic director for two years and was pre-k through 12 principal at Otterville and then superintendent at Prairie Home.  Gemes has finally come back home once again to be the Warsaw school district superintendent. 

   “This brought me full circle back home,” said Gemes

   Warsaw has always been home for the Gemes family. 

   Gemes met his wife, Julie, in high school. Julie is the John Boise Middle school art teacher and also a Warsaw grad. She graduated in ‘99.

    “We started dating in the summer of my senior year. We’ve been married now for 21 years,” said Gemes. 

   Scott and Julie have a son, Logan. He is a sophomore who is involved in many sports including football, basketball, and baseball. 

    Scott Gemes attended UCM (University of Central Missouri) and William Woods for his masters and his specialist degrees. He majored in math secondary education, minored in coaching and got his master’s in administration. 

  Gemes’ work experiences in administration at Marshall and Otterville encouraged him to aim for the top leadership position in school administration. 

   “When I went to Otterville they said, ‘we really think you would be a good superintendent’ so that encouraged me and then I got the opportunity at Prairie Home and jumped on it,” said Gemes. 

   The family is more than happy to be back home. 

   “I’m excited to be home and I’m looking forward to what we can do to make this school the best it can possibly be,” Gemes said.

   Coming back home to Warsaw brought so many opportunities for Gemes. 

   “It was an opportunity to get my family back to the same school district again. That wasn’t a guarantee initially when I took the job, but it was a hope that may happen,” said Gemes. “I can see my wife and Logan in the halls again. I did not have that opportunity at Prairie Home.”

   Games said the move also fit his career goals and what he envisions as the district’s future.

   “This is a bigger school district and there are a lot more opportunities as a superintendent as well. I can touch more lives than at Prairie Home,” Gemes said.  

   His goal is to spend the last decade of his career being Warsaw’s superintendent. 

   “My goal is that this is my last job. I would like to retire here after ten years,”  Gemes said.