Soderman returns to DCSD

By Kathryn Reed

On a 7-0 vote the Douglas County School District board voted this week to bring John Soderman back as superintendent.

He will fill in while the board looks for a permanent hire. Soderman, who lives in Gardnerville, had been superintendent from 2000-06.

Soderman

“It was a very good choice. We are all looking forward to moving forward,” said Rich Alexander, assistant superintendent.

Soderman has been consulting for school districts in Nevada since his retirement.

At a previous meeting the board had agreed not to hire the interim superintendent at the permanent supe.

Alexander would not say if he is considering tossing his resume onto the stack. He was superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District before joining DCSD.

The details of Soderman’s contract and exact start day were to be finalized this week. Soderman is expected to begin work this month and make about $10,000/month.

Jim Huge, the consultant the district is using in the hiring process, expects to post the job in January, have interviews shortly after that, with the anticipation of the next person starting July 1.

Carol Lark’s last day as leader of the district was Nov. 30. Her tenure at the helm was full of strife — not all her own doing.

Part was money issues, part personnel and part having to contend with the dynamics of one district with two distinct personalities. This is because the district seat is in Minden in the Carson Valley, while a small part of the district is in Lake Tahoe.

Lake parents have often felt they get the short-end of things because at the high school level fewer extra-curricular classes can be offered because of the size of the school, while at the elementary level classes are large because there aren’t quite enough students to create a second class. Plus, only one of the seven board members lives at the lake so parents believe the representation is skewed.