Andover School Committee Meeting To Discuss Teacher's Lawsuit

ANDOVER, MA -- The Andover School Committee has scheduled an executive session before its regular meeting Thursday to discuss pending litigation. In February, Jacquelyn Silvani filed a discrimination complaint against the school district that claimed she was fired from her job as an elementary school teacher because of the high cost of her son's cancer treatments.

The school system said Silvani was laid off in 2016 because of a lack of funding. But a few months later the job was reposted. Silvani reapplied for her old job but was not rehired or even interviewed, according to her complaint. She also applied for two other open positions in the district, but was only interviewed for one of them.

At the time of her termination, Silvani's three year-old son's cancer treatments had cost the school system more than $1 million. School officials have declined comment on the matter, but Superintendent Sheldon Berman did tell the Eagle-Tribune at the time time the suit was fired that the district has a "different opinion" about the circumstances surrounding Silvani's termination.

Silvani has since taken a position at Sacred Heart School in Hampton, NH. Her son's cancer is in remission.

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Patch file photo of Sheldon Berman.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).