The Whitefish School District Board of

Trustees last week named Kathryn “Kate” Orozco as the next

superintendent of the school district. Orozco will replace current

superintendent Jerry House when he retires this summer after 11

years at the helm. Her contract officially starts on July 1.

“I’m very excited to get to Whitefish,”

Orozco said. “My experience there is limited, but I did have a

chance to meet a number of wonderful students, administrators and

parents.

“I’m very encouraged by their

commitment to the schools and the kids.”

She said her first responsibility as

superintendent will be to get to know the community and the people

who live here.

Pat Jarvi, chairwoman of the board,

said Orozco was chosen because of her extensive background in

curriculum and instruction.

“The most important thing a school

district does is teach kids,” Jarvi said. “In the 21st century,

everything is changing so fast. We have to prepare students to face

a future that isn’t so easy to predict.

“Our superintendent needs to be updated

on what an effective curriculum looks like in the 21 century. It’s

of vital importance.”

Jarvi noted that Orozco’s eagerness

impressed the board, too.

Orozco, 51, is currently an associate

superintendent with the North Platte Public Schools in North

Platte, Neb. She received her bachelors, masters and doctorate

degrees from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and her

administrative degree from the University of Nebraska at

Kearney.

She spent six years in Spokane with the

Small Schools Project, a Seattle-based organization that offers

support and consulting to districts. She worked as an adjunct

professor with Gonzaga and spent 20 years as a teacher, mostly in

fifth- and sixth grade classrooms.

Orozco will earn $112,500 for a 260-day

contract. Benefits include standard holidays, sick and personal

leave and a $10,000 stipend in lieu of heath insurance.

Jarvi said the superintendent search

went well.

“The community and students were

involved,” Jarvi said. “I think the process was successful.”

McPherson & Jacobson served as

consultants in the search process and will continue working with

the Whitefish School District Board of Trustees and the new

superintendent during the 2011- 2012 school year.