Mills? request for leave of absence is turned down
A request for a one-year leave of absence for Rogers City Middle School teacher Bryan Mills, who also served as drama club advisor, was denied at Monday?s Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education meeting. The vote was unanimous. Mills is in California caring for his 71-year-old father, who is in declining health, and his stepmother, who has cancer. At last month?s board meeting, interim superintendent Paul Mancine recommended the board not grant the leave because it would set a precedent and the leave provision didn?t apply to Mills? situation.
Additional time of 30 days was granted to explore other options. Since then, Mills rescinded his letter from last month and submitted a new one dated August 26. Mills is working in a school district in California while he takes care of his father and stepmother. ailing family members.
?I do not want to resign from the Rogers City School District,? Mills stated. ?Rogers City has been my home for 12 years. With the help of many individuals, I have founded a work in the community in the performing arts like no other in northern Michigan. I wish to continue that work when I return.? Mills stated that he took the job in California because he needed to support his two daughters who live in the Presque Isle area.
?THEY ARE another very important reason I wish to return to the area with employment in the Rogers City School District,? Mills stated. Board member Dick Hanson asked Mills to reword his letter to the board, and ask for a Family Medical Leave, which would require Mills not work, but Mills believes he is not eligible for the act because of the amount of time he asked for.
?However, you are able to grant a leave of absence for any reason under the terms of our contract,? Mills stated in his letter to the board. ?I ask that you view my request as a unique case, like no other before it, nor possibly after it.? Mancine?s position, that the board should not grant the leave, remained unchanged.
?WHEN I CAME here I said I would do what?s best for the district in the long run,? said Mancine. ?An important aspect to any school, especially in relation to the professional people, is you have to abide by the master agreement. ?To do so, you cannot treat people as individuals. It?s a situation where it is written and negotiated. You cannot pick and choose and parcel it out to individuals. Mancine said the issue is not whether Mills has contributed to the good of the schools, because he has, but he believes there could be difficulties down the road if other requests ?remotely similar to this? come before the board.
?To me, when you have a situation with declining enrollment, and when you are going to have uncertainty and things, I don?t think it?s the right thing to do. Believe me, this whole issue has been difficult for this local board of education,? Mancine said. ?I truly believe, in terms of contract management?it will cause an issue in the future that you are going to be dealing with and will open the proverbial can of worms.?
LOCAL BUSINESSMAN Richard Lamb felt compelled to voice his support for Mills, since he couldn?t be there to represent himself. Lamb read a two-page letter to the board, encouraging them to retain ?this fine teacher for the 2006-07 year. As I understand it, the board has the option to consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.? Lamb called Mills a well-grounded family man who is being pulled in many directions.
Lamb said, as student of local history, he has seen few members of the community who have had more positive influence on more people than Mills in his 12 years in the community. Since be
BEFORE VOTING, board member Jo Bush Glenn acknowledged much of what has been said about the special contributions of Mills over the years, ?but I also feel that all of our staff: teaching staff, support staff, all have made special contributions.? Hanson said his ?no? vote was one of the hardest decisions he?s had to make since becoming a board member.
?If everyone had to take a leave right now, there would be nobody here but the kids,? Hanson said. ?That?s a long shot. We have to do what?s right with the policy.?