Shelby County teacher needs more sick time as she battles breast cancer

SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - A second grade teacher in Shelby County is asking teachers around the state of Alabama for help by donating their sick time.

Christine McCall has been battling stage 3 breast cancer since September. She posted the request on social media.

McCall won’t be able to return back to work until August, and she says she needs 54 more days donated to her from the sick bank to cover her until she returns.

According to the state school system, any eligible teacher experiencing an illness, injury, or pregnancy that causes them to be absent from work for a long time can enter into the sick bank where other Alabama teachers can donate their time.

“My days stopped in April which means I wouldn’t be paid from April until September, which is huge, especially when there’s bills, hospital bills on top of normal bills,” McCall said.

As everything started to pile up, McCall started to worry about how she was going to support herself which is why she is asking for help.

“A part of me feels really guilty because these are strangers donating me their earned time off which I just don’t feel like is fair,” McCall said. “But I’m just thankful that they want to do that for me because now I feel less stressed out when it comes to paying these hospital bills that will definitely be coming up in March.”

McCall is thankful for the support she has received on social media, from her school and fellow teachers.

Some are already donating some of their sick days to help.

We reached out to the Shelby County school system, and they said in a statement:

“Shelby County Schools offers a sick bank for employees to donate and receive sick leave. Open enrollment in the sick leave bank is in September and January each year and requires the enrolling employee to deposit or donate two sick leave days to the bank. Employees are also to apply for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. Members of the Sick Leave Bank who meet the qualifications required for Catastrophic Sick Leave are eligible to receive sick leave donations from other employees. Individual members may contribute a maximum of 30 days to one person. As part of our Shelby Cares Wellness Initiative, employees receive an email once a month listing the employees who have been approved for catastrophic leave so that other employees are aware of who is in need of donations. Through our My Shelby Benefits, the district offers short and long-term disability insurance that employees can enroll in during open benefits as additional protection in the event of an illness or injury.”

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