Teacher faces termination after calling in sick for 2 days to attend a concert in Nashville, district says

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) – A high school English teacher in Ohio is facing termination after she allegedly called out of work sick for two days to attend a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, district records show.

Eileen Washburn, an English teacher at Lakota West High School in the Lakota Local School District, is currently on unpaid leave as she faces potential termination.

Not only is Washburn a teacher, but she is also a member of the board of education at another nearby school district, Loveland City School District, according to its website.

Both districts are in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati.

At a board meeting this week for Lakota Local Schools, where Washburn teaches, board members voted to keep Washburn on unpaid leave until their next meeting, when they will vote on her termination.

Documents from the board meeting say that Washburn “falsified sick leave” on Feb. 8 and 9, and that Washburn told several colleagues that she was attending a concert in Nashville.

The school board said Washburn refused to answer questions regarding her whereabouts during that time and refused to discuss specifics on her alleged need for sick leave.

Interim Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli recommended that the board continue Washburn’s current suspension without pay and then vote to terminate her at their next meeting on April 22, unless “Washburn files a written demand for a hearing within the time required,” documents show.

WXIX has reached out to Washburn for comment.