Grady stepping down from school board

Kay Grady is resigning from the Sisters School Board effective Wednesday, July 2. The current board vice-chair is one year into a four-year term. She was elected to the office after being appointed to fill out long-term board member Glen Lasken's term after his departure in March 2012.

Her resignation is due to family medical issues regarding her son.

Grady told The Nugget that the board needs a fully engaged candidate to fill her position.

"Hopefully they'll come with some understanding of how schools work - especially school funding," she said.

Grady said there is not a broad understanding of the constraints under which school districts operate.

"It's not like we can go out and raise revenue; we have to abide by collective bargaining," she said. "A lot of people just don't understand how closely a lot of decisions we make are tied to the requirements of the state - unfunded mandates."

Being an effective board member requires a great deal more than attending meetings and setting district policy.

"You have to get out of your seat," she said. "People call you up; you see people. They expect you to be responsive. Our job is much more hands-on that it would be in a more urban school district."

She also said that it is important that board members don't come in with a hidden agenda and are willing to work collaboratively on a broad range of issues.

Grady points to the overwhelming passage of local option funding as the most important accomplishment of the district during her tenure. She also cited the district's efforts to maintain a broad range of offerings as a significant accomplishment.

"I think it's really essential that our kids, our students are offered lots of options so that there's life beyond reading writing and 'rithmatic," she said.

The school board was to accept her resignation on Wednesday and will begin to take applications for an appointee to serve the three years remaining on her term.