Odds are that soon-to-resign School District of Mystery Lake (SDML) board of trustees vice-chairperson Janet Brady won’t be particularly thrilled to see her photo on the front page of this week’s Thompson Citizen nor to see that this editorial addresses her resignation, because if there’s one thing you can say about her, it’s that she never sought out the limelight.
Indeed, on at least on occasion Brady has jokingly complained to one of this newspaper’s reporters about taking her photograph and using it in the newspaper, since she prefers to do her work behind the scenes.
But one of the reasons she often found herself in front of the camera lens was because she doesn’t think that being a trustee is only about showing up to the twice-monthly meetings – though she didn’t miss many of those – but also about connecting with the students and teachers whose education and jobs she helped oversee along with district staff, which is why, if there was a Christmas concert, or a science fair to judge, or an event to promote literacy at the mall, she would be there. It wasn’t about being the face of the school board; it was about being in touch with the people it exists for and because, as she said in this week’s article regarding her upcoming resignation, she truly believes in the power of education.
Janet Brady joined the school board in 2011, around the time that it was a constant topic in the news because of its earlier decision to publicly extend then R.D. Parker Collegiate principal Ryan Land – now a school board trustee himself – probationary status for an additional year, only to later terminate his employment (which officially ended with his retroactive resignation as part of settlement betewen himself and the district, which rescinded his termination, in 2012),* setting off protests by students. Then there were behind-the-scenes conflicts between some since-departed administrators at the SDML and the ongoing effects, with resignations, labour board hearings, last-minute settlements and on and on and on. As Brady saw it, her job was to help keep the administration running smoothly and, if she didn’t see stories about it on the front page regularly, she felt she was doing her job.
The board of trustees will be poorer for the last few months of its current term on account of not having Brady among their ranks, but she has earned her retirement, not only from the school board but from her real job as well, helping social work students become professional social workers, though she will still keep involved in education, working with newcomers and immigrants in Winnipeg to help them learn to read and write English in their adopted country.
Janet Brady will probably be greatly relieved that this should mark one of the last times that she appears on the pages of the Citizen, unless perhaps her fellow trustees plan a big sendoff for her at her last meeting just before the end of the school year. But we’ll keep a lookout for her when she moves down south to take note if she does anything newsworthy. Just in case she misses the attention.
*This editorial has been changed to accurately reflect the circumstances under which former principal Ryan Land's employment with the school district ended.
