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Bullying Allegations

UPDATE: Rhonda Nixon out as SD73 Superintendent following bullying allegations

Jul 3, 2025 | 11:11 AM

KAMLOOPS — (UPDATE 3:20 p.m.): The Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD73) has announced the departure of Rhonda Nixon after four years as Superintendent, months after bullying allegations were levelled against her.

In a letter sent to staff Thursday (July 3) morning, a copy of which was obtained by CFJC Today, SD73 said Nixon was resigning and that her last day will be this Friday (July 4).

In a statement to CFJC Today, Chelsea Isenor, SD73’s Director of Communications and Board Administration, confirmed Nixon’s departure ading she “has decided to return to Alberta to support her family.”

“The Board of Education will appoint an Interim Superintendent as they launch a search for a permanent replacement,” Isenor said in the statement.

Departure linked to CUPE 3500 grievance

In a letter to its members, CUPE 3500 – which represents support staff at SD73 – confirmed that it had accused Nixon of bullying in a grievance it filed in February. It also said Nixon’s departure was “the direct result of our grievance.”

“As you are aware, our local filed a group grievance against superintendent Rhonda Nixon. That investigation has now been completed,” CUPE 3500 President Dawn Armstrong wrote in the July 3 letter.

“The employer has accepted the findings of the investigator and our grievance.”

While details remain unclear, Armstrong’s letter said Nixon’s conduct violated SD73 Administrative Procedure (AP) 171 – which relates to bullying and harassment – and AP 404 – the Employee Code of Conduct.

“You may have heard through the media that Rhonda Nixon has resigned her position claiming she needs to return to Alberta for family reasons. Whereas we do not wish to discredit any family issues Ms. Nixon is saying that she is experiencing, we can assure members that her departure is also a direct result of our grievance,” Armstrong wrote.

“Our goal, however, was to stop the harassment and Rhonda Nixon’s departure will ensure this outcome.”

Armstrong also confirmed that given Nixon’s upcoming departure, CUPE 3500 will be withdrawing its grievance.

“I’m sure you join the Executive in thanking the grievers for the amazing courage they demonstrated in taking on this wrong,” she wrote. “CUPE 3500 has shown that we will never tolerate the harassment of any of our members from any level of management.”

In the letter, Armstrong said – as part of its response to the union’s grievance – the SD73 Board “acknowledged its support for the complainants and employees who were subjected to the Superintendent’s conduct…and also its support for the processes put in place for reporting alleged instances of bullying and harassment.”

Reached for further comment, Armstrong told CFJC Today that CUPE 3500 would be “happy to make a statement” once SD73 responds to the results of the investigation.

“We believe it is the District’s responsibility to respond to to the results of that investigation,” Armstrong said.

At this its unclear if – or when – SD73 will comply with that request, as the district declined requests for an interview, saying “there are no further details share right now.”

DPAC ‘not surprised’ by Nixon’s departure

Speaking to CFJC Today, SD73 District Parent Advisory Council Chair Bonnie McBride said she wasn’t surprised by Nixon’s sudden departure after “several years of a lot of volatility and upheaval.”

“I think it is a hard time for our district to have another significant upheaval,” McBride added.

But McBride also said she hoped the SD73 Board will look externally for Nixon’s replacement in an effort to bring fresh new ideas to the school district.

“I would not want us to hire a person that continues in the direction we have been going, because it’s clearly not working,” McBride said.

“I would hope that we would be looking for and engaging people in a way that inspires people to make the change that needs to happen, and bring us back to that very positive, hopefully space that education can be.”

McBride also said she hopes proper consultation will go into the hiring process for a new superintendent, and that whoever is hired helps bring stability to the district.

“We haven’t had enough stability yet, so I think it would be prudent of our board to pull back and do a deep dive and make sure we are really hiring the person to move us into that next strategic plan,” McBride said, referencing the current 2022-2027 strategic plan.

“I do have concerns about the appointment of a superintendent without consultation with their partners.”

Nixon’s final year marred by other issues

Nixon’s departure from SD73 comes as the school district was forced to cut 70 full time equivalent positions in the wake of a multi-million dollar budget shortfall brought about by a lack of provincial funding.

It also announced plans to hire Responsible Adults to fill vacant Certified Education Assistant (CEA) positions, though that plan was later shelved following outrage from CUPE 3500, which called the plan “an affront to the dedication and hard work” of CEAs.

The district was also dealing with a $2-million accounting error that led to a number of other cuts and cost saving measures. That accounting error led to Trina Cassidy’s dismissal as the SD73 Secretary-Treasurer last fall.

Nixon joined SD73 ahead of the 2021-22 school year. Prior to her tenure in Kamloops, she was the Deputy Superintendent at the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Division in Alberta. She took over from Alison Sidow, who retired after the 2019-20 school year.

Former Superintendent Terry Sullivan was in the role on an interim basis during the 2020-21 school year.

– With files from Michael Reeve/CFJC Today