Churchill County School Board approves Dr. Dina Pineda as middle school principal

The Churchill County School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire Dr. Dina Pineda as principal of Churchill County Middle School, the board announced during its public meeting. Superintendent Parsons recommended Pineda after an interview process and background checks.

Superintendent Parsons told trustees the interview committee met April 26 and reviewed applicants before recommending Dr. Pineda. "I really feel that she has what it's going to take to bring the school together, move things forward," Parsons said, describing discussions about vision, behavioral and academic priorities and follow-up interviews.

Dr. Pineda introduced herself to the board as a seven-year employee of Churchill County School District and outlined a 90-day plan she said would run from July 1 through November to improve staff, student and stakeholder communication. "I'm Dr. Dina Pineda. This is my seventh year being in Churchill County School District," she said. "Really working towards getting that communication out to our staff, our students, our stakeholders." She also said students and parents had described her as fair and consistent, and noted a seven-year United States Army background mentioned in the interview process.

Several trustees acknowledged long-standing concerns at the middle school. Trustee Guerrero Getch said she initially struggled with the recommendation because the candidate has been at the school and the middle school "has been a topic of concern for this board for quite some time," citing behavioral and academic challenges. "There'll be a lot of, I think, watchful eyes," Guerrero Getch said, adding that she had done additional research and heard positive feedback that supported moving forward.

Trustee McFadden moved to hire Pineda; Trustee Whitaker seconded the motion. After brief remarks of support and a reminder of accountability expectations from other trustees, the board took a voice vote. President Malkovich announced the vote was unanimous and welcomed Pineda to the role.

The board record indicates the district will post the recommended candidate's name and supplemental materials to the agenda and school district website; Superintendent Parsons said background checks had been completed. No formal discussion of contract length, salary, or evaluation metrics was recorded in the meeting minutes for this agenda item.

The board returned to the public comment portion of the agenda after the vote.