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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Mary Vane, the former chair of the Yellowknife Catholic school board, is recuperating abroad in the Czech Republic after falling down a flight of stairs during a family get-together.

Her injuries prevented her from completing her term as trustee, and thus she stepped down Sept. 19 - a month before completion.

Vane thanked everyone for all their work, singling out YCS superintendent Claudia Parker and Yk Education District No. 1 chair Allan Shortt for their collaborative efforts, according to agenda minutes from the Yellowknife Catholic Schools' annual general meeting.

Vice-chair Gerda Hazenberg has been acting as chair since Vane's announcement, and presided over Wednesday's final public meeting before turning over governance to the new board elected during Monday's municipal election.

"Mary stepped down due to ill health. She fell and fractured several ribs and her wrist," said Hazenberg, noting Vane injured herself falling down 10 steps during a family reunion in Nova Scotia. "She and her husband are in the Czech Republic for treatment. She was in a lot of pain and needed to step down."

Hazenberg had glowing things to say about Vane, noting her work with parent advisory committees, Canadian Parents for French, and her promotion of the arts in school curricula. She also said Vane was instrumental in starting up parental meetings with the board and the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre for vocational trades training.

"She was a very hard working person," said Hazenberg of Vane's 12 years as a school trustee.

"She was hard on herself and hard on others, and she had high expectations of others. She was really about excellence in education. She wanted to make sure schools gave a high level of education to students and she was very community minded ... She's been dedicated to Yellowknife for many years."

The seven-member board has not been without its fair share of controversies in the past few years. In 2006, the board voted on whether or not to allow non-Catholics a place on the board even though 40 per cent of their student body is not Catholic. In 2009, the board decided not to allow vaccinations against HPV - a sexually transmitted disease - into its schools.

In January, Yellowknifer reported on the scandal that erupted within the community after the board, under Vane's leadership, decided to dismiss Johnnie Bowden, the school district's assistant superintendent of learning, and to not renew superintendent Claudia Parker's contract. A public backlash during a school board meeting in January saved Parker's and Bowden's jobs. In March, former trustee Rose-Marie Jackson announced she was resigning due to a lack of confidence in Vane's ability to lead the board.

Hazenberg ran for trustee again this year but was defeated and will complete her time as trustee and chair by the end of October. The new board will be sworn in at the Nov. 14 board meeting when a new chair will also be selected by trustees.

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