The school\u2019s vice-principal, Wayne Rodgers, was stabbed twice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The assailant, who was 15 at the time, was sentenced to two years of probation in 2024<\/a> after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault. His name is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than three years after the attack, Light said navigating the systems meant to support her has been grueling.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018A blood-curdling scream\u2019<\/p>\n Light first knew something was wrong that day when she heard a \u201cblood-curdling scream\u201d from Rodgers\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said she jumped up from her desk to see what was going on. She could see the student attacking Rodgers through the glass of his office door.\u00a0<\/p>\n Light tried to open the door but it was stuck. She instructed the security guard on duty to call the police.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eventually, she saw Rodgers fall onto his back as the student continued to attack him.\u00a0<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t know who finally managed to unlock the door, but as it flew open, she said the student grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forcefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, she thought she\u2019d been sucker-punched.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like the wind was knocked out of me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moments later, Light recalls Rodgers clutching his stomach.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018My dear, he stabbed me.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Only then did she realize she\u2019d been stabbed too.\u00a0<\/p>\n Light credits one of her colleagues and two students with helping her and Rodgers control the bleeding until first responders arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n She feels thankful to be alive, but said since then, her life hasn\u2019t been the same.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was wheeled out that morning on the stretcher, my career ended,\u201d said Light.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018In survival mode\u2019<\/p>\n For the past three years, Light said she\u2019s been unable to work due to physical and psychological injuries caused by the attack, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n After the stabbing, she moved out of the Halifax area to a rural community in Cumberland County out of fear she might encounter her assailant on the streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve literally been in survival mode since the incident,\u201d she said. \u201cI drive around with tinted windows on my car. I paid two fines to have those tinted windows because I don\u2019t like the exposure of going out in a car.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with the emotional trauma, Light said the incident has destroyed her financially.<\/p>\n Before the attack, she was working two full-time jobs \u2014 overnight in a group home for at-risk youth, followed by administrative work in the high school’s main office during the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now she relies on payments from the province\u2019s Workers\u2019 Compensation Board (WCB).\u00a0<\/p>\n Before the attack, she earned $81,208.58 annually between both jobs.<\/p>\n According to documents reviewed by CBC News, WCB says Light is entitled to $1,617.28 every two weeks, or $42,049.28 per year.<\/p>\n Financial struggles\u00a0<\/p>\n According to salary statements, Light’s employer, the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), stopped contributing to her pension when she went off work.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her hourly wage has also been frozen since the attack, and she alleges HRCE is withholding wage increases she\u2019s entitled to outlined in her union\u2019s collective agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n A spokesperson for HRCE declined an interview with CBC News and would not answer questions about whether these steps are protocol when an employee is on leave due to an injury on the job.<\/p>\n \u201cAll human resource situations are nuanced and confidential,\u201d said spokesperson Lindsey Bunin in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, we cannot provide comment as matters associated with the incident at Charles P. Allen are still before the courts,\u201d Bunin added, referring to a lawsuit filed by Rodgers<\/a> against HRCE, one of its security guards and the province.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780400410_496_default.jpg\")
As she navigates the mental and physical healing process, Light finds solace in writing and journaling about her experience. (Grey Butler\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780400410_465_default.jpg\")
Sydnee Blum is the executive director of the Halifax Workers’ Action Centre. Blum said the organization is on track to offer free legal advice to 500 workers this year. (Hans Fanfon\/CBC)<\/p>\n