Teachers Rally For Colleague With Cancer
With a 'sick bank' not an option, West Morris Regional faculty try alternate means of help.
Despite the impasse on a sick bank deal between the Board and Association, faculty members at both West Morris Central and Mendham will continue their efforts to help Susan Moor, a nurse at West Morris Central currently battling breast cancer. Moor lost all of her accumulated sick days in the spring of 2012 when her 8-year-old daughter died.
Faculty members at both high schools will be wearing professionally-acceptable jeans throughout the final week of January as part of the Dollars for Denim campaign, Teacher’s Association President Joyce Hartmann said.
Dollars for Denim is usually held each Friday, where faculty members can wear more casual clothing and donate funds to charities.
During this week of the program, faculty members will be able to wear jeans all week and a $5 per day suggested donation has been requested. All proceeds from the week-long event will go to Moor, Hartmann said.
Moor’s husband, Joe, has been keeping family, friends and colleagues updated on his wife’s progress via blog, which can be found at www.faithsmom.com.
LVMom
12:56 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
the sick bank was a great idea, and the fact this poor woman has been through so much and the board is being all corporate on her is ridiculous... schools are supposed to be a community of caring, that is what we teach our children - yet here we failed to do the right thing.
Lt.Dan
12:12 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
I think I have a solution. If the NJEA simply let the West Morris members donate their union dues -- taken out of every single paycheck by law whether they like it or not -- into a fund to help this woman, she would have hundreds of thousands of dollars more than this "sick day bank" idea. What possible better use for that money is there that is more important than a fellow union member in need?
PatienceWorth
4:00 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
+1
michael stone
8:04 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
It appears she has a site where one already can donate money for her. If her co-workers want to donate, they should donate there. This is not an issue at all for the school board or the union to get involved with. An avenue is in place, a website, for donations to go. NJEA dues have nothing to do with this nor should they. Her illness is not a school related matter.
12345678
10:56 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Can we send our kids to school with donations?
1819
11:57 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
I am curious as to why the negotiations between the union and the BOE that broke off without resolution remain secret. I think it would be informative to taxpayers to know where the two sides disagreed.
Claire
2:57 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
It seems a lot of info is being posted here, but I wish the Patch could verify some facts. What was the option the board offered the union that was rejected? Is this about Mrs Moore not have health benefits or is this about getting paid for days out? Does her husband have health insurance? From what I read on the NJEA site, teachers can buy disability insurance. Is this not available to WM teachers? If teachers no longer have health insurance once their sick days run out then something is wrong with their contract. Just trying to understand the facts. I wish Susan a speedy recovery, she is a lovely person and always very caring for the students.
Sandy
8:19 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
She probably did not buy disability insurance during the "opt-in" period. When you first start a job, this is almost always an option, my guess is she did not take the opportunity at that time. After that, she probably had chances to do so before she was diagnosed with the illness and failed to do so. This is a critical mistake that many make. Schools have some of the better plans to choose from, I know, I am in the insurance industry. This should be a lesson to others out there to save for a rainy day.
michael stone
7:55 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
How many years did this woman work there and did she use all of her sick days every year like some people do? I'm sure she gets so many sick days per year like many jobs, where you bank them from year to year. Sounds like many of my co-workers who use all their days each year, then complain when they run out. No institution in their right mind would allow sharing sick days, name one company that would do that, it seems the board wants to be compassionate, but common sense tells you that you can't share sick days, then everyone would do that, and in a union all must go by the same rules.
Heidi Prudente
7:02 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
We are hosting a fundraising event to benefit Mrs. Moor and her family at Bob's Long Valley Pizza, Deli & Bagels. Please come in for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner (Dine-In or Take-Out) on Monday, February 11th. 20% of our sales for the entire day will be donated to Mrs. Moor.
https://www.facebook.com/LongValleyPizza