Coeur d'Alene selects new superintendent

COEUR d’ALENE — Veteran educator and administrator Shon Hocker has been selected as the next superintendent of the Coeur d'Alene School District.

The Coeur d'Alene School Board met through the weekend to consider the two finalists for the position: Hocker and Coeur d'Alene Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education and Instruction Kate Orozco.

“The board was honored and grateful to have two outstanding candidates for superintendent,” Board Chair Jennifer Brumley said Monday. "We did not take this decision lightly, and both Dr. Orozco and Dr. Hocker are highly qualified to do the job. The board is excited to announce the offer and acceptance of the superintendent position by Dr. Shon Hocker.”

On July 1, Hocker will replace Superintendent Steve Cook, who has led the district since July 2018. In January, Cook accepted a position as superintendent of the Bend-La Pine School District in Bend, Ore., which serves more than 18,000 students.

The Coeur d’Alene School District has 10,000 students and 1,350 staff. Hocker will be the fifth Coeur d'Alene superintendent in 13 years. His base salary will be $165,000 per year.

“I am honored to have been selected as the new superintendent for Coeur d'Alene Public Schools,” Hocker said. "Although I will definitely miss my current school district, my wife, Carla, and I have been touched by the outpouring of support and encouragement we have already received from so many Coeur d'Alene staff and parents. It is clear that Coeur d'Alene has a powerful sense of community. We are looking forward to becoming immersed into your wonderful community and participating in all that it has to offer.”

Hocker has been the superintendent of Dickinson Public Schools in Dickinson, N.D. since 2018. The district has 4,500 students and 650 staff members. Prior to that, Hocker was superintendent of the Big Horn School District in Cowley, Wyo., from 2007 to 2018. He was named Wyoming Superintendent of the Year in 2016.

From 2004 to 2007, Hocker was principal of Shelley High School in Shelley, Idaho.

Hocker said he is "hopeful to continue to build upon the excellence that Coeur d'Alene Public Schools has come to represent."

"Coeur d’Alene appears to be a great place to live and work, and a wonderful place to raise a family," he said. "As I toured many of the schools, I was impressed by the learning environment and engagement of the students and staff."

Regarding the divisiveness that has been felt in the district in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Hocker said Coeur d'Alene didn't experience anything that much different than other places in the country.

"There certainly are some opinions that are well known on both sides," he said. "But I don't see that being any different than anywhere else.

Hocker said anyone who knows him knows that he's "pretty calm and levelheaded," and although he never claims everything is done with perfection, "in my current district, I think people are very happy overall with that style of leadership.

"I'm able to listen to people and hear their concerns, listen to opposing viewpoints," he said. "I do plan to be that calm, and that glue to help bring everybody together with a focus of what’s best for students.

"We’re there for our kids, for their kids," he said. "And that’s our focus."