Coeur d'Alene Superintendent Hocker will not go to Pueblo

Shon Hocker, superintendent of the Coeur d'Alene School District, will not be taking the same position with the Pueblo School District in Pueblo, Colo.

Trustees of the Pueblo School Board voted 3-2 to offer the job to another candidate, Coeur d'Alene officials reported. Hocker was one of two finalists being considered after a third candidate withdrew.

"It became very clear to me that Pueblo, Colo., was not a good fit for me and my family," Hocker said in a letter to district staff, sent Monday afternoon to The Press.

Hocker was hired to the Coeur d'Alene School District on July 1, 2021, after the departure of Steve Cook, who served as the Coeur d'Alene superintendent from July 2018 to July 2021. Before Cook, Stan Olson led in an interim capacity during the 2017-18 school year. He replaced Trina Caudle, the district’s then-director of secondary education, who acted as superintendent when the previous superintendent, Matt Handelman, resigned in April 2017.

The Coeur d'Alene School District is in the midst of balancing a financial shortfall, which is projected to send the district over budget by $6 million. Hocker, school board trustees and others in district leadership positions have been weighing options to correct the budget and make reductions wherever possible to get the balance to $0.

In the letter to district staff, Hocker assured Coeur d'Alene team members he will continue to work together with them in the best interest of the students and staff.

The Pueblo School District superintendent finalist interviews were recorded and can be viewed at: pueblod60.org/superintendentsearch.