Terry Brockie leaves County Superintendent of Schools post

Blaine County Superintendent of Schools Terry Brockie announced he was resigning at the end of April to take a newly created position with Island Mountain Development Group (IMDG), the "economic development arm" of the Fort Belknap Community. Brockie was appointed as county superintendent of schools in July, 2013, when Dr. Lisa Stroh left to take another position. Brockie was elected to an additional four-year term in 2014.

Before becoming county superintendent, Brockie taught the Aaniiih language at Hays/Lodge Pole High School. He is also an adjunct professor of native language at Aaniiih Nakoda College at Fort Belknap. Brockie is active as a high school boys' basketball referee and was named Montana's "Boys Basketball Official of the Year" in 2014 by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

When he was appointed to the county superintendent's position, Brockie said, "I wasn't looking for a job. My wife and I had both quit our jobs and accepted new positions away from the area. A family situation necessitated our staying around Hays. I saw the vacancy posted for Blaine County Superintendent of Schools and submitted an application. I was appointed and that began a new career path for me."

Brockie described the duties of the county superintendent of schools as "very broad." Among the varied tasks, the superintendent of schools is chair of the county education committee, reviews budgets, sets mill rates for the county educational function, is supervisor for rural schools and is the representative for federal programs in rural schools.

The county superintendent of schools is even the county truancy officer. Brockie said, "That's not a role I had to take often, but it was a source of real reward when I could intervene and get a student back to regular attendance at school." He explained that often it was a matter of coordinating efforts of many social agencies, and sometimes law enforcement, to help get a child back in school.

Describing duties, he added, "Sometimes the superintendent's role is to be a listening ear to a parent or student with a problem and helping them find resources to deal with their problem. I tried to start each day with a personal reminder that my job was to "do what was best for students." Keeping that in mind, solutions were fairly straightforward to problems." One role he was glad he didn't have to take was as 'final arbiter.' He explained the county superintendent can be called on to settle disputes that can't be resolved at the school level. He said, "Thankfully no major unsolved disputes reached the Superintendent's office while I was serving."

Brockie expressed his appreciation to all the people who helped him get settled into the position when he became the county superintendent. He said, "I was pretty green and a lot of people helped me learn the job and get comfortable with the duties I had to perform. Mari Anne Skoyen, the administrative assistant in the office, played a crucial role in getting me started. She's the "nuts and bolts" of the office as far as getting things organized and completed."

In his new role at Island Mountain Development Group Brockie will serve as Director of Communications. His job will entail handling public relations functions and facilitating communications about the activities the economic development group is undertaking. He added, "I believe in the mission of the Island Mountain Group, they create jobs and that is critical to the economic well-being of the area."

At the end of the interview, Brockie said, "I want to thank the residents of Blaine County for allowing me to serve them. It's been an honor and a pleasure to be the County Superintendent of Schools. I worked with a lot of rural school staff, trustees and clerks and got to understand their challenges. And I really enjoyed working with the folks here in the courthouse, it's a great place to work." Brockie was honored with a farewell reception last week at the courthouse.

The "Journal" wishes Terry success in his new role with the Island Mountain Development Group.