Schools lose a leader

Coeur d’Alene High School principal Troy Schueller died Wednesday afternoon of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to a statement from the school district, Schueller, 42, was found at his residence before being transported to Kootenai Health. He died around 2 p.m.

“Words cannot express the sadness that I feel and that is shared by our school board, our staff and our community by this loss,” Superintendent Stan Olson said. “This is a young man that was respected and appreciated by not only our students and staff but by anyone who knew him.”

Classes at CHS are not in session today, but the district crisis assistance team will be at the high school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“Troy truly, deeply cared about everybody,” said Trina Caudle, director of secondary education. “As principal at Coeur d’Alene High, his top priority was to improve the culture of the school and make sure all students and staff knew they were cared for. We encourage our students to reach out and talk with their loved ones, or come to the school and visit with one of the crisis counselors who are here to help.”

Schueller was in his second year as principal of CHS. Prior to that, he served as an assistant principal at Coeur d’Alene High for eight years.

Todd Gilkey, the athletic director at St. Maries High School, described Schueller as “an amazing man” whose impact will be missed.

“What made Troy amazing was how much he cared about kids and people,” Gilkey said. “Everything he did was kid-centered.”

Gilkey first got to know Schueller as a student teacher at St. Maries High School when Schueller was a senior there. The two went on to work together at CHS years later.

“Troy and I had a unique relationship, and this is a traumatic loss for all of us,” Gilkey said. “Every life that Troy touched he was a positive influence on.”

Schueller received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Lewis-Clark State College in 1997 and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Idaho in 2003.

Prior to his roles of principal and assistant principal at CHS, Schueller served as the athletic director, assistant principal, principal, and wrestling coach at Kellogg High School.

He also worked as the principal at Canyon Elementary in the Kellogg School District and spent time as a teacher at St. Maries Middle School.

On Jan. 27, 2001, Schueller and his Kellogg wrestling team were involved in a bus crash when the driver suffered a heart attack.

The accident landed Schueller in the hospital for five days with a broken jaw, broken ankle and broken knee.

Other than George Wild, the driver, no other fatalities occurred that day.

“The very first person on scene was my pregnant wife, and thoughts go through my mind if I should really be doing this,” Schueller said in a 2017 interview with The Press. “I sat down with that year’s juniors and told them I’m hanging it up and I can’t do this anymore.”

He coached the team until those juniors graduated, then did in fact retire as a wrestling coach. However, Schueller remained involved in the sport as an official.

Schueller was a native North Idahoan who served the area his whole adult life, and in that 2017 interview with The Press, he expressed his appreciation for his community.

“I love the people,” he said. “I love North Idaho. I love the town, and love it all.”

He is survived by his wife, Saprina, who teaches English at Canfield Middle School; two children, Ashley and Hunter; and a grandchild, Rayah.