Post Falls superintendent Dena Naccarato to retire after 32 years in education

Post Falls schools are preparing for a leadership handoff as Dena Naccarato leaves a district that has been navigating growth, a four-day school week and continuing budget pressure across Kootenai County.

Naccarato will retire at the end of the 2025-26 school year after 32 years in public education and 22 years as an administrator. Her Post Falls tenure included six years as superintendent, after earlier serving as assistant superintendent of secondary programs from 2017 to 2020 and director of programs and instruction from 2014 to 2017. She has said it feels strange to close the education chapter of her life after spending 50 years in school as a student, teacher and administrator.

The district has already moved to line up its next phase of leadership. Anna Wilson, promoted to deputy superintendent in 2025, was named as the interim superintendent for the 2026-27 school year. The district’s administration page still lists Naccarato as superintendent and Wilson as deputy superintendent, signaling that the transition is being managed well before Naccarato steps away.

That handoff comes as Post Falls schools continue to work through major operational decisions. The district approved a four-day school week for the 2025-26 school year, a change that affects families, staff schedules and school operations. Enrollment has also remained high, with the district later reporting 5,823 students for 2025-26, up from 5,779 students in 2024-25, when the National Center for Education Statistics listed 12 schools in the district.

Academic results have offered one bright spot during the transition. In August 2025, the district said it led Idaho for a second straight year in early literacy on the Idaho Reading Indicator. At the same time, the district chose not to pursue an emergency levy for 2025-26, even as enrollment and attendance continue to affect funding. In March 2025, Post Falls reported an average daily attendance rate of 92.6%.

Naccarato’s retirement, first publicly reported in July 2025, now marks more than a personal milestone. It opens a new chapter for a district that is balancing growth, staffing, funding and the longer-term effects of the four-day week while students and families head toward summer. The district will hold an open house from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Trailhead Event Center in Q’emiln Park.