Coeur d’Alene Public Schools to publicly interview final candidates for superintendent

The Coeur d’Alene Public Schools Board of Trustees has narrowed the search for the district’s new superintendent to two candidates who will answer questions in a public forum next week, according to a Coeur d’Alene Public Schools news release.

Shon Hocker, superintendent of Dickinson Public Schools in North Dakota, and Kate Orozco, assistant superintendent of elementary education and instruction for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, will answer questions Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. in a session open to the public through the district’s YouTube channel.

Community members can submit suggested questions for the candidates via email to search21@cdaschools.org, the release said. Feedback for the board after the public forum sessions can be sent to the same email address before 3 p.m. next Friday.

Hocker, who received a doctorate in educational leadership from Idaho State University in 2016, has been superintendent of Dickinson Public Schools since 2018, the release said. His district serves 4,500 students and 650 staff. From 2007 to 2018, he was superintendent of the Big Horn County School District 1 in Cowley, Wyoming.

Orozco, who received her doctorate in leadership studies from Gonzaga University in 2005, has served as director of elementary education and then assistant superintendent of elementary education and instruction in Coeur d’Alene since 2015, according to the release. The Coeur d’Alene district has 10,000 students and 1,350 staff.

From 2011 to 2015, Orozco was superintendent of Whitefish (Montana) School District.