This past August, Canton Elementary teacher Carrie Compton was flipping through the latest NEA Today magazine when a particular story caught her eye. She read about a fellow teacher and mother from Muskogee who was docked pay when she left to be a part of her son’s deployment. Fortunately, this teacher’s local association and district were able to come to an agreement for military leave, but Carrie had the sudden realization that she could be facing the same issue in her own district. Her son was attending AIT training for the Army National Guard in Virginia at the time.
“With the way flights were being cancelled and rebooked, my husband and I decided to drive the 19 hours, each way, to and from Virginia. We didn’t want to run into the chance of missing his graduation. I knew that I would have to use all of my personal days and possibly pay for a sub for two days, out of pocket. I was also concerned that if my son were to be deployed soon, I had no personal days left,” Carrie explained.
She reached out to Patti Serio, an OEA Organizing Specialist and long-time friend. She explained “I have been a member of OEA for roughly 20 years and knew that I could count on them to represent me or guide me through this process if needed.”
After hearing from Carrie, Patti’s first response was to investigate what other districts in her area were doing in regards to military leave for staff members. She determined that no districts in the area had clauses for this type of leave in their contracts. Afterwards, “I encouraged her to have a talk with the principal and even the superintendent about working out something that would not cost her money to attend her son’s graduation and departure to serve in the military.”
After giving this advice to Carrie, Patti notified the region’s OEA Advocate, Jacki McFarland, of the situation who then contacted the Canton Public Schools superintendent and set up a meeting.
“My superintendent was very supportive when I talked with him and offered to help in any way he could. I asked to be put on the school board agenda and presented the article I read concerning military leave to the board members,” she stated.
Although things were moving quickly, Carrie was worried that because her school district is small, she was not sure if change could happen.
“I have always told my children, ‘You’ll never know unless you ask. The worst thing anyone can tell you is no’. Not only was I presenting the military issue to the school board for myself, but I thought about ‘that teacher’ in the future that may have exhausted all personal days and would need these days. I have a 19-year-old son that is willing to give his life for our country; it is my duty and honor to support him,” she reflected.
The school board agreed to write a policy providing up to three military days per semester, six per school year, which are paid by the district to attend graduations, deployments, returns to stateside and other important milestones.
Once Patti heard the news, she was emotional. “Carrie Compton has shown that anything that is important to you is worth fighting for. And now all those that run across the need for military leave will have it at Canton Public Schools! This also shows that although we work for OEA, our members become our friends and we truly care about their lives and how we can help them. It’s not just a job,” she shared.
With support and a little courage, Carrie was successful in making this contract change in only 3-weeks and was able to attend her son’s graduation. She said “OEA has helped me in the past, and I am glad to say, they were there to help me again.”
