LETTER: Teacher With ALS Terminated, Not Granted Additional Sick Days

BLACKSTONE VALLEY, MA—Letter submitted to Patch:

To whom it may concern,
Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and someone dies from it. This disease is 100 percent fatal, with a very short life expectancy after diagnosis. This disease is fast, vicious, and the cost of care is astronomical.

On Aug. 15, 2016, my father Dr. Philip LeMarbre was diagnosed with ALS. While facing this devastating diagnosis, he took sick leave from his teaching position at Blackstone Valley Tech, where he taught for nine years and 75 days. He was a loved and respected faculty member who taught AP Biology. In December, he was notified that he was 116 days short of retirement, and that as of Dec. 7 would run out of sick time and would not be eligible for his life insurance, retirement or health insurance.

He petitioned the school committee for more sick time. The two BVT teachers voted yes, but the two school committee members voted no. The tie vote resulted in his petition being declined. The reason cited by the administration for voting "no" was “BVT had spent too much money on the science department that year."

Today we received a letter that my father will be officially terminated from his position at the end of the school year for “failure to comply with the requests from the school." The request from the school was a 45 page document that needed the signature of an occupational therapist. His occupational therapist would not sign it, as her job is to evaluate people, not programs, which the document was.

My father e-mailed the principal, explaining the issue, and has yet to hear back. The superintendent has declined having face to face meetings with my father, to find a solution to get him to retirement. They did offer a payout of $20K, which does not even cover the cost of the increased health insurance. My dad declined and sought legal help.

It turns out, the administration at BVT has not broken the law – in fact, they have followed it to the letter. And therein is the problem. The teachers have no protection if the administration is allowed to cut off support to teachers based on a four-person vote, where the “majority” is two.

The lack of compassion the administration has for a staff member that is well loved by both the teachers and students is astonishing.

Our goal with this letter is to bring attention to this “loophole” and try to change the way days in the sick bank work. No one else facing a terminal diagnosis should have this added stress thrown on them. We would like to specifically thank the teachers and students (both current and alumni) of BVT for the tremendous support they have shown our family.

Through this difficult time, the support they have shown has made such a difference for my Dad.

Thank you, #PhilsArmy

A GoFundMe page has been set up.

Joelle LeMarbre
Millbury