# Massachusetts Teacher Denied Extra Paid Leave to Welcome Home Stepson Wounded in Afghanistan



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

A Massachusetts school board has denied a teacher's request for three paid days off to welcome home her soldier stepson who was seriously injured while serving in Afghanistan.
Sonya Lomax, a high school math teacher in Carver, Mass., had asked for the three additional days to visit with her stepson, 23-year-old Army Spc. Todd Lomax, who was seriously wounded after being hit by shrapnel in a grenade explosion in Kandahar Province in October.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/10/massachusetts-teacher-denied-extra-paid-leave-to-welcome-home-son-wounded-in/?test=latestnews#ixzz1j5fnhDdp


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2012)

While I think it would be a nice gesture for the board to grant her request, I don't think they're horrible people for not granting it. If the woman wanted more time, then she should have done what she mentioned and got a dr's note. Bad things happen to good people every day, does that mean everyone should get extra paid leave whenever something happens? Where would you draw the line? There are plenty of city/state/federal employees who have to deal with tragic circumstances without getting EXTRA paid time off. Her stepson seems to be on the mend, God bless him, so it's not like her presence there is urgent and necessary. You want to be with your stepson, then take the time off, paid or not. If she's really struggling financially and can't afford to go unpaid, then maybe all her supporters will donate $$$. Let me say again that I think it would be a nice thing for them to do, but I don't think it's the school board's job to donate the funds.

Ok, I said it... Be gentle.


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## HistoryHound (Aug 30, 2008)

The story I saw on the news made it sound like she wanted to convert sick days to personal days. I know things are different when contracts are involved and private verses public employees, but if she has sick time available I don't see why they wouldn't let her take it for this. In the places I worked HR, we didn't have days designated as "personal", we had sick, vac and some people had a couple "floating holidays." It was never an issue if someone ran out of sick and wanted to use vac or take a sick day because a family member was sick so it surprises me that it would be such a big deal for her to take a couple of extra days under the circumstances. Now if the report I heard was inaccurate and the nine days consisted of sick and personal; then, I can understand where the superintendent and school board are coming from because the minute you make an exception for one person you open the door for a whole mess of problems from people who were denied the exception in the past or will be denied it in the future.


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## SgtAndySipowicz (Mar 17, 2008)

The school board would probably give her the time if she were going to attend her son's gay wedding ceremony in Berkeley CA.........Libs (most school boards) hate the military...........


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## HistoryHound (Aug 30, 2008)

mtc said:


> The story originally reported was she wanted to convert her time.. which is ridiculous.
> 
> What a bunch of effing losers Carver school board is !!


Ok, so I'm not the only one who heard that version of the story. Definitely something wrong that they won't allow her to convert the time. Hell they don't even have to do any work to convert the time, all they have to do is put her out on sick leave for a couple of days. I saw her on the news, looked to me like she might be coming down with the flu.


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

mtc said:


> The story originally reported was she wanted to convert her time.. which is ridiculous.
> 
> What a bunch of effing losers Carver school board is !!


Ok, that part was left out of the written article. If that's the case, then it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I thought she was asking for extra days beyond everything else she is provided.

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## mr_happy (May 30, 2010)

i disagree. i am an active duty troop. 

you are either sick or your NOT. if you use up all your leave (vacation, personal days) then go down on your own dime.

sounds like she wants her cake and eat it too. 

might get flamed for this, so be it. -i am not sure how it works in the teacher sector. but i think this is BS. she openly admitted she wasn't sick. so why should we all pay for her road trip.

shit happens, i get it. that's why i save xxxyyyzz amount of days. i can't just bang out sick because my cat died. 

**i am an active duty troop and i still disagree. in my opinion, she is a coward. she is using her step-son and hiding behind him. she should have STFU and went down on her own.


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## HistoryHound (Aug 30, 2008)

Would you feel the same way if you heard the part of the story where some members of the community offered to donate what she will lose in pay to her, but she said if they really want to do something; then, they should donate the money to wounded veterans instead? Letting someone use their personal sick time for a sick in family, which is what I consider this to be, was no big deal when I worked in HR and that was the crappy private sector. Since public employees have it so much better than the rest of us (I heard it on the news so it must be true); then, I don't see why it's such a big deal to let her use her sick time.


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## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

If you are out of paid time, then take the 3 days unpaid. Don't see why this is national news.

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## Nuke_TRT (Feb 10, 2008)

Yet another reason why we negotiated all our "sick time" to "benefit days".


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

mr_happy said:


> i can't just bang out sick because my cat died.


If you want to be a cop, you have a lot to learn, kid.


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## mr_happy (May 30, 2010)

Delta784 said:


> If you want to be a cop, you have a lot to learn, kid.


no sir, i appreciate your job and the work you do.... we work with local and federal LE, Fire, DFS HAZMAT, EMS all the time and out of all i do NOT envy what your job the most..... i like Masscops because i can tell the real LE from the posers on the cynism alone.

keep on plugging.

i'm also a pervert.


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