Judy Bradley, a former provincial cabinet minister and MLA for Weyburn-Big Muddy, is going back to work as a teacher at Milestone School as of Feb. 1, but some parents from the school are concerned the personnel change is happening in the middle of a school year.

An invitational meeting attended by close to 50 concerned parents was held in Milestone on Thursday to address local concerns.

Colleen Christopherson, chairwoman of board of education for Prairie View School Division No. 74, led the meeting. Christopherson said the local board had called the local parents and they asked the divisional board to explain what was going on.

The board followed the Labour Standards Legislation which provides for leaves, said Christopherson.

"It says an employer shall grant a leave of absence for the amount of time to perform duties in the public service and afterwards the employer should provide continuing employment, and that is what we did and we allowed our (ex) MLA to return to the classroom. We asked Judy to give us 60 days notice and to start at the beginning of the semester, and although she didn't have to, she agreed to create the minimal disruption possible although there's never any good time for this type of disruption," said Christopherson.

The teacher Bradley will be replacing is Tiffany Moorhead. Moorhead has close to three years' experience working within the Prairie View School Division and teaches several different subjects in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 9. Christopherson describes Moorhead as a local woman, and one concerned parent says Moorhead is popular with both students and parents. But now Moorhead will be leaving to make room for the more experienced Bradley.

"If there's any opening she would definitely have the right to apply and that would be the decision of the local hiring committee at that time," said Christopherson of Moorhead's chances of retaining another position within the school division.

Moorhead would not comment on the situation.

Chuck Hersberger, one of the concerned parents who attended the meeting, says he has a daughter in kindergarten who enjoys being taught by Moorhead. Hersberger is concerned that his daughter's education is being disrupted in the middle of a school year.

"From my perspective I don't think there would be that many people concerned if they gave Judy her job back in September. There's a lot of people concerned the change is being made Feb. 1," said Hersberger.

"I'm curious to know if the Labour Standards Act could be changed so that's there's a five-year maximum. Right now there's no time limit specified, but the most the government can govern without an election is five years so I would like to see that part of the act changed because after five years it's no longer a leave of absence, it's a career move," said Hersberger.

At the same time, Hersberger says he accepts the decision of the school division and the local board.

"I want it to be clear that I'm against what the board has done, but they've made their decision and we need to accept that, and if parents band together whenever there's anything they don't like, then why is the board there?" said Hersberger.

Bradley says she loves teaching and that job security was her primary concern when making the decision to enter politics. Job security and the ability to return to work after public service is protected under the Labour Standards Act as well as within teachers' negotiated contracts, said Bradley.

"Many people have returned under that protection and it's not just teachers, it's other people in other professions as well. When I was considering whether I should run I did check out the job protection - that was very important to me - and every year I wrote the board to keep them informed, and I'm returning under that agreement," she said.

Bradley has roughly 12 years of teaching experience.

"For me, I was personally in a risky situation," she said. Weyburn-Big Muddy "is not a constituency where you make a life career."

Bradley adds if the labour standards provisions which allow politicians to return to work did not exist, a lot of people would not consider entering politics.

"I know the STF (Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation) has been very supportive of people entering politics for either federal or provincial public service, and it is important, and it's something we want to encourage from people of all walks of life.

"It was a difficult decision to go into politics, because I love teaching, but I'll work hard and do a good job."