Ex-SD73 superintendent Nixon hired to lead Red Deer Catholic district

“On behalf of the board of trustees, I am excited to share the appointment of Dr. Rhonda Nixon as superintendent of schools,” says Murray Hollman, board chair.

“She was highly recommended and demonstrated a proven track record of success in rural-urban school divisions.”

Nixon has a 25-year career in Catholic education in Alberta, holding teaching roles at various grade levels, has been a school principal, and was division leader at Edmonton Catholic and Greater St. Albert Catholic school divisions.

She was also chief superintendent for four years in British Columbia, the division noted, and is said to bring a wealth of experience in rural-urban communities.

“I have known Rhonda to be a dedicated servant leader when she served on the board of the College of Alberta School Superintendents and was president of the Catholic Council of School Superintendents of Alberta,” Acting Superintendent Ryan Ledene shared.

“Rhonda is known for her collaborative and compassionate leadership and her focus on students’ needs and ensuring that every student has equitable opportunities to thrive.”

Nixon herself noted she is honoured to take over.

“My first priorities are to get to know staff, parents, students, and community partners. I look forward to working together to continue to bring the mission and vision alive in our division and to continue the trajectory of well-established success through the hard work of our staff,” she said.

Nixon’s hiring comes after former superintendent Dr. Kathleen Finnigan retired in May 2025. Finnigan went on to be hired as principal at École St. Patrick High School in Yellowknife, NWT.

Grievance in Kamloops

According to reporting by rdnewsNOW’s sister newsroom, CFJC Today in Kamloops, Dr. Nixon left School District 73 (SD73) following allegations of bullying.

In this July story, CFJC reported Nixon was the subject of a grievance filed by members of CUPE 3500, which represents local school support staff.

The union confirmed to CFJC that it filed a grievance against Nixon in February 2025, adding on July 3 that their investigation was complete.

They also asserted Nixon’s departure was “the direct result of our grievance,” though the SD73 board has maintained it was simply due to family reasons.

“The employer has accepted the findings of the investigator and our grievance,” the union stated in a July 3 letter.

Details in July remained unclear, but the letter from CUPE 3500 President Dawn Armstrong alleged Nixon’s conduct violated SD73 Administrative Procedure (AP) 171 – which relates to bullying and harassment – and AP 404 – the Employee Code of Conduct, according to CFJC.

“You may have heard through the media that Rhonda Nixon has resigned her position claiming she needs to return to Alberta for family reasons,” Armstrong continued.

“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.”

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

It was also noted by Armstrong in the letter that the SD73 board wished to “acknowledge its support for the complainants and employees who were subjected to the superintendent’s conduct.”

Speaking to rdnewsNOW, a spokesperson for SD73 refused to confirm or deny that was their exact wording to the union, citing confidentiality.

But the letter ends, saying “CUPE 3500 has shown that we will never tolerate the harassment of any of our members from any level of management.”

The investigation’s completion resulted in withdrawal of the grievance.

Speaking to CFJC in July, 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.”

rdnewsNOW asked Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools for a statement on this matter, additional to their initial release about Nixon’s hiring.

Over the phone, Board Chair Hollman reiterated the search was robust, and lasted three months.

“We got quite a few good candidates. In the end, we shortlisted three, and Dr. Nixon rose to the top. In terms of transparency, we were aware of some of the issues in Kamloops, but we still felt that she’s a proven faith leader [with] multiple decades of experience in Alberta,” said Hollman.

“We have no concerns. Dr. Nixon got glowing reviews, her board [in Kamloops] was part of the reference checks we did, and they had nothing but great things to say.”

Hollman shared a little bit more detail about Nixon’s return to Alberta, saying it was in connection to some health issues her mother was dealing with, and affirming SD73’s stance that it wasn’t connected to the grievance.

Hollman also answered a question about why the board didn’t wait for the Oct. 20 municipal and school trustee elections to take place before allowing the newly-elected board to hire a new superintendent.

“We felt it wouldn’t be fair to leave it for the next board. This board, most of us have been on it a very long time, and that was more the rationale,” he said. “We wanted to make sure there were no loose ends to clean up, and we also promised our acting superintendent, Mr. Ledene, that we wouldn’t drag the process out, because he did not want to be the [permanent] superintendent.”

Ledene, formerly associate superintendent of system services, will move into a new, unannounced position within the division.

by Josh Hall/RedDeerNewsNow / Victor Kaisar

Ex-SD73 superintendent Nixon hired to lead Red Deer Catholic district

Grievance in Kamloops

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