CDA schools boss talks resignations, staffing shortage

COEUR d'ALENE — After 90 days as superintendent of the Coeur d’Alene School District, Shon Hocker has been asked this question:

“Did you make the greatest mistake in your career coming to Coeur d’Alene?”

His answer on Friday, as he spoke to The Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club, was absolutely not.

“I hope I can bring something to offer to the school district and something to the community,” he said to about 100 people at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. “I never pretend to be the smartest guy in the room. I really rely on input and advice from members and try to run a smooth ship. I've been successful doing that in the past.”

But Hocker faces challenges, starting with Friday’s resignation of two school board members Tambra Pickford and chair Jennifer Brumley in the wake of a hostile crowd to a possible mask mandate last week.

Wanda Quinn introduced Hocker and said, “This man has a huge task on his hands.”

“I can say from experience, having served on the Coeur d’Alene School Board for 12 years, it can be a lonely experience sometimes,” she said. “And with issues that are controversial, not even divisive, you sort of wonder who your friends are and aren’t.”

In a 20-minute speech, Hocker defended board trustees and addressed other key issues.

“I can't argue as to why a board member would resign today, because I can't believe anybody would want to be a school board member across the country,” he said, which drew laughs from the luncheon crowd.

He said nobody should fault Pickford and Brumley for their decisions “to reevaluate, reprioritize and get back to focusing on what they should be focusing on, and that's their families and their livelihoods.”

He said they are dedicated and have done their best in difficult circumstances.

He called on people to learn about board candidates before the Nov. 2 election, “find out what they’re about, what do they want to do, what they don’t want to do.”

"I just encourage our community to make sure that we do our due diligence with all of our candidates," he said.

Whoever is elected to the board on Nov. 3, Hocker said, “I'm very confident everything's going to be OK.”

“I think we just have to be quick not to judge, quick to trust people, and I think we'll be OK,” he added later.

He said the district is facing staffing challenges, with more than 50 vacancies, has about 40 to 50 substitutes, and could use twice that many every day to maintain operations.

"We fill about half of the substitute needs every day," he said.

Hocker said people have asked him if the district may have to close or go to a hybrid model.

He said he has declined to try and predict the future.

“It’s really been a priority of ours to try to do everything we can to keep our doors open this year,” he said. “Just like everybody else in the community, we’re really struggling with staff availability.”

Hocker said politics and education don't mix.

“You don't run on a school board based on some sort of a political platform,” he said.

"Every now and again politics has a way of creeping into some of these boards. And I think it's just really important for us to keep the focus on school and on providing a robust education opportunity."