For "reasons connected to health and opportunity," Brian Pepper is stepping down as the superintendent for School District 57.
His last day on the job will be Dec. 31, Pepper said in a letter of resignation issued Thursday.
The announcement did not come as a total surprise to school board chair Tony Cable.
"Brian has been talking off and on about leaving the district," Cable said. "He has been in the district for 10 years as superintendent and in one way it's a surprise, in another it's something he had discussed in the past."
Pepper had been on a health-related leave for a period this school year but Cable said it was nothing serious.
"It was just one of those things that happens to all of our staff from time to time," Cable said.
Pepper has been the district's superintendent since 2006 when he was named to the position in February of that year, four months before the departure of his predecessor Dick Chambers.
He has been in the school district since 1979 when he started as a teacher at Nukko Lake elementary school and was appointed co-assistant superintendent in August 2005.
Pepper was known for putting in the hours.
Prince George District Parent Advisory Council chair Sarah Holland noted he had been holding down three jobs at the start of this school year - superintendent, acting assistant superintendent and principal of the Centre for Learning Alternatives.
"He does not have an easy job... it's a difficult job, it's a consuming job and it's a horrifically important job," Holland said.
Holland said Pepper's decision came as a "shock" and District Teachers Association president Richard Giroday said he was "quite surprised," by the move.
Giroday expressed some accolades for Pepper's performance.
"As a superintendent, I think he's led our district through a lot of difficult times," Giroday said. "He's been a pretty positive person whenever we worked with him. We've had our differences, but that's not unusual."
Perhaps the most difficult of those times was a round school closures in 2010 in the face of declining enrollment and a tightening budget. It yield six school closures and reconfigurations of three others.
Cable said school board members will have to meet as soon as possible to set the wheels in motion for finding a replacement and to appoint an interim superintendent for the time it takes to complete that process.
"You definitely look for a person with superior leadership skills, you're definitely looking at someone that's personable, someone that has a very strong background in education and curriculum and I guess one of the big things is a demonstrated experience of leadership in a role similar to this, either as a school principal or an assistant superintendent or working at some sort of a board office," Cable said.
That Pepper resigned midway through the school year has its benefits as far as Holland is concerned.
"I know my child's elementary school, for example, had a principal start at spring break and it was a bit different but it did allow them to get used to the school before starting off at the beginning of the school year, which is an even more intensive time," Holland said.
Other than "reasons for health and opportunity," Pepper did not elaborate in the letter on why he's stepping down but did say he has "enjoyed every day" in the school district.
He went on to praise teachers, support staff, administration, parents, local media and the community at large.
"School District No. 57 (Prince George) has been a wonderful place to work and learn," Pepper said. "Learning is, and must remain, the primary focus of all work and decision making in the school district!
"There is no greater privilege than to be allowed to not only touch the future but shape it. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to serve others."
