Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teacher asks school board to reevaluate sick‑leave bank to cover immediate family illness
Summary
A fourth-grade teacher who recently lost her daughter to cancer urged the King George County School Board to consider allowing employees to draw from the district’s sick‑leave bank for serious immediate‑family illnesses, saying current rules restrict use to the employee’s own illness.
Alexandra Devine, a fourth‑grade teacher at Sealson Elementary School, told the school board she lost her daughter after an eight‑year battle with breast cancer and asked the board to “evaluate the sick leave bank for employees in the school system.”
“I’m coming before you to ask for you to evaluate the sick leave bank for employees in the school system,” Alexandra Devine said, describing a long career in which she had rarely used leave until multiple family health crises required extended time off. “I think it should be considered that your immediate family, a certain amount of time,” she told the board.
Devine said she understood the current rule allows drawing from the sick‑leave bank only if the employee is personally ill. She asked the board to consider whether the bank should be available for teachers facing catastrophic family illnesses and said many employees are one major health event away from needing extended leave.
Superintendent Dr. Boyd thanked Devine for speaking and said the board office would “certainly probably talk about it tomorrow in the school board office, and we’ll get back to you and tell you what we found out in terms of sick leave banks.” The superintendent indicated staff would research the policy and report back.
The board did not take formal action or set a deadline at the meeting; the superintendent said staff would review the sick‑leave bank rules and follow up with Devine.
Less critical details: Devine described prior uses of leave in her 21‑year tenure and asked the board to consider what might be “reasonable” to allow for immediate‑family use of the bank.
