Earlier in April, Humboldt County School District (HCSD) Superintendent of 13 years, Dr. Dave Jensen, announced that he will be retiring in June of 2025 during a regular meeting of the Humboldt County School Board of Trustees, but the Board has already appointed a new superintendent at their meeting on April 23 (Trustee Lori Woodland was present online).
“My intent for providing a year’s notice is so there would be no surprises,” explained Dr. Jensen. “So that the Board could take some action and we could spend time preparing.”
Dr. Jensen explained that the Board had two options— to source a new superintendent internally if possible or perform an external search. Having received a letter of interest from current HCSD Director of Curriculum Colby Corbitt, the Board unanimously approved his appointment.
“I have the utmost confidence in Colby,” said Dr. Jensen. “I know that he has the passion and skill set that he can step into this role and with that passion, continue to move the district forward.”
Along with being the Director of Curriculum, Corbitt has also served as the Winnemucca Grammar School Principal and French Ford Middle School Principal this year.
Additionally, Corbitt has worked to bring programs to the HCSD including Communities in Schools, which provided students with one-on-one resources and support, as well as the Food Pantry at the Winnemucca Junior High School.
“I think it’s absolutely imperative to have somebody that’s been a part of our Strategic Plan and someone who has had to grind some difficult things out with us, “ Trustee Jenna Owen.
The Board discussed the perceived high rate of turnover for externally sourced candidates and the potential for a drastic change in leadership to hurt the forward progress that the Board has made. They agreed that an internal candidate would have more “buy in” and fit the district’s needs better.
“We’ve done so much good work that I would hate for someone [external] to come in and derail it,” added Trustee Sabrina Uhlmann.
Dr. Jensen explained that Corbitt does not have experience with certain financial aspects and staffing for the district, but with a full year of cross training prior to assuming the role, Corbitt will be ready.
“People know and trust Colby and he’s earned that in his time that he’s been doing this work,” said HCSD Vice Superintendent Will Jensen.
Former HCSD Trustee Glenda Deputy was present at the meeting in support of Corbitt and said “Colby has made a huge difference in the community already.”
School calendar
Corbitt also recently took on the task of organizing the new school calendar for 2025 through 2028.
According to Corbitt, a calendar survey that was created by the HCSD calendar committee was sent out in order to gather feedback from stakeholders to gauge the success of the hybrid calendar adopted in 2022 and allow opportunities for improvement.
The hybrid calendar which had schools starting a week earlier than usual in August and incorporating a full week release for Thanksgiving Break and a 4-day weekend in the spring for Easter.
Corbitt said that of the 1,108 respondents, 68 percent were in favor of keeping the hybrid calendar, but the committee was able to include some of the key suggestions from the community.
Corbitt said that the suggestions included that Spring break is too early and families did not like the Wednesday to Wednesday Christmas break.
For school years 2025-2028, as approved by the Board, Spring break will be moved back to Easter Sunday, making it later than the previous years. Christmas break will begin the Monday before Christmas rather than running from Wednesday to Wednesday.
The Committee was also able to add an additional day of instruction time for the remote rural schools, bringing the total school days from 150 to 151 days, while still maintaining historical break days.
“Understanding that 68 percent of respondents liked what we’re doing, we tried to create a calendar that keeps pretty much the same format that we already have but then addresses some of the feedback,” said Corbitt.