STHS principal resigns under fire

South Tahoe High School will have a new principal next school year.

On Tuesday night the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board of education accepted Chad Houck’s resignation. Houck has been in a tenuous position for about a year; ever since the school received a two-year probationary accreditation last spring.

Chad Houck

When the district learned last month that its appeal to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges was denied, Houck’s future was sealed.

The district will begin the search for a principal later this month. This is Houck’s third year at STHS.

Also at the March 14 meeting the board released an assistant elementary principal “because of the level of revenue from the state,” Superintendent Jim Tarwater told Lake Tahoe News. This will provide the district with some flexibility for next school year with where to place this individual.

The district was expecting $1.4 million from the state and is instead getting $402,000. With the number of classified and certificated employees who will be retiring at the end of this school year, the district anticipates a savings of $1 million. It is balancing the books through attrition.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report