An outrage as sick teacher forced to pay for substitute

LOS ANGELES: Parents at an elementary school in San Francisco have expressed outrage after learning that a teacher suffering from cancer and on sick leave is having to pay the school district for her substitute.

The second-grade teacher at Glen Park Elementary is off sick with breast cancer for the rest of the year and has been paying nearly US$200 (RM830) a day for her replacement, in accordance with state law, local news reports said.

“Parents were outraged and incredulous – like, this can’t be,” Amanda Fried, who has a daughter in kindergarten and another in third grade, said.

A school district spokesperson, however, said that the payment was not unusual and was in line with state law.

“This is not unique to San Francisco,” Laura Dudnick said in a statement. “This is not a district-only rule.”

Dudnick explained that teachers in the district get 10 days of sick leave a year and can carry over those sick days year after year if they don’t use them.

Once those sick days are exhausted, teachers are then eligible for 100 days of extended sick leave, during which they are entitled to their full pay, minus the cost of a substitute.

On learning about the little-known provision in the state’s education code, horrified parents last month began raising money for the popular teacher, who has asked that her name not be disclosed.

A GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly US$14,000 (RM58,157) and some of the children are planning bake sales to raise more funds. — AFP