Ohio English teacher faces firing for using sick days to attend Nashville concert
An Ohio school teacher could get axed for calling out sick for two days — so she could attend a concert in Nashville.
Eileen Washburn, an English teacher at Lakota West High School in Beckett Ridge, was placed on unpaid leave as the Lakota Local School District investigates whether she violated her teachers’ union contract to attend the concert.
Washburn allegedly “falsified sick leave” for February 8 and 9 to attend the out-of-state performance, telling several colleagues where she was going, according to a Resolution to Consider Termination obtained by WXIX.
The educator is also accused of not providing information to school officials when asked during a meeting after her trip was discovered.
“During her predisciplinary meeting, she refused to answer questions regarding her whereabouts or specifics on her alleged need for sick leave.”
Lakota West High School is 20 miles north of Cincinnati.
The school board, under the direction of newly sworn-in Interim Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli, unanimously voted to begin Washburn’s termination process during a board meeting Tuesday.
The vote also kept the teacher on unpaid leave until the board votes on her employment status in a subsequent meeting scheduled for April 22.
Washburn can submit a written demand for a hearing before the April 22 vote.
Along with violating the teachers’ contract, Washburn was found in violation of the state code for “Termination of contract by board of education” and multiple board policies that included sick leave and staff ethics.
“Her actions also violated the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators,” the proposed termination legislation stated.
Washburn serves as an ESL teacher, according to the school’s website.
She is also a board member for the nearby Loveland City School District.
While there’s no indication which concert Washburn attended in Nashville, several large shows took place in the Music City during the weekend in question, including Drake and J. Cole’s performance at the Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 8.
Washburn isn’t the only teacher to be fired in the Midwest for enjoying music, as a Michigan charter school teacher was fired after a parent complained about her growing rapping career.
Domonique Brown, who performs under the pseudonym Drippin Honey, was a US history teacher at Taylor Preparatory High School in metro Detroit before she was fired last month.
Brown, a former “teacher of the month,” revealed on social media she was canned because of “a single parent’s disapproval.”
The parent’s complaint was submitted anonymously in October, after she released her song “Drippin 101,” resulting in several months of meetings with school administrators.
In a final act of defiance, Brown shot a music video with some of her students singing and dancing to her song on her last day at the school.
