To the editor,
I was shocked to read the Salida Board of Education's decision to deny extended leave to a teacher who has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, especially Superintendent Blackburn's recommendation.
Am I missing something here? The district's “policy” appears to be fairly simple. Teachers are extremely important and valuable resources in the education of young people in our communities and society as a whole. This teacher doesn't want to get sick and doesn't have to beg for time off to recover and return to work healthy and motivated. Have any school board members gone through chemotherapy so they can empathize with this teacher's experience?
According to the article, the teacher will lose her FML insurance, which was supposed to offset a portion of her district's salary. This makes no sense. The board's decision sends a clear message to other teachers who need time off work to get healthy: “We don't care.”
I do not know if this teacher, or any other teacher in this district, is represented by a teachers' union, but perhaps she could have handled this better if she had been advised by a union attorney.
Perhaps the board's decision had more to do with money than the article made clear. Let this teacher resign and hire someone to replace her at the bottom of her pay scale.
I may be wrong, but the decision to deny a sick teacher time off to recuperate shows how little school district administrators view his health as a priority. It serves as an example for all teachers.
steve eckhart
salida
