District Fires Sick Librarian

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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 2/27/2008 2:10:00 PM

All Angela Page wants is her job back. The former media specialist at Liberty Middle School in upstate New York was fired last December for not showing up for work since 2004. But Page had a good reason. She got terribly sick from her mold-infested library, which resulted from a leaky roof. Now Page is suing the Liberty School District for $2 million in federal court. SLJ talked to the 52-year-old librarian about her long ordeal—and what the future holds. 

When did you make the connection between your illness and the leak in the library?

Biologically, we all have a toxic load that we reach. I was shelving books and starting to trip over my own feet. I was getting dizzier and dizzier, and I didn’t know why. I wasn’t putting it together that, of course, "This place has been leaking for 13 years, the books have been covered in mold for 13 years, the rug has been absorbing the water, and the particle board shelving is puffing up it’s so wet." I just wasn’t thinking that it was settling in my body too and causing all these problems. When I was first sick, I couldn’t have had a conversation. I couldn’t remember what I was talking about. My brain was fried, and I’ve done a lot of medical stuff to get better.
How long was the library ceiling leaking?

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I got the school board minutes from the week before the school opened. The library leaked from the day it opened, and it says so in the minutes that "we can’t open the school because the library ceiling just keeps dripping." Instead of fixing the problem they put spackle buckets in the ceiling with tarp to catch the rain. They did that when we opened in 1991. The janitors gave me a key to come in on weekends to dump buckets because it would spill all the time, and they couldn’t keep up with it. Those buckets are still there.

When did you stop going to work?

By the end it was horrible. It was the winter of 2004, and I was fainting. And I refused to go in there.

What’s your diagnosis?

I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. It’s neurotoxic poisoning—I am not sick from the mold necessarily, although that does make you sick—but what I’m sick from is the gases that mold gives out, which are filled with benzene and a lot of chemicals. These are the very same chemicals that are in fragrance, Windex, chemicals that you wash floors with. So I can’t be in public because the world is laden in fabric softener, shampoo that smells—these are all chemicals, and this is nothing good for you.

Why aren’t the kids getting that sick?

The kids come in and out. I was in there every day except for two weeks in August, when I would take a break. I even worked during the time [between] school ending and summer school starting, because that’s when I did inventory. I loved my job. I’d bring my lunch and do the scanning.

How do you live with your illness?

I wear my respirator in public now because I can’t breathe petrochemical byproducts or chemical fragrances, and I have difficulty breathing. At home I’m fine. My family moved out—I live alone now. I can’t live a normal life, thanks to them. My partner, who lived with me for 13 years and was working at the school, would come home, and I could just smell the mold and the mold toxins and the smell from people. And I just couldn’t be in his presence. My daughter, who was 10 years old when I got sick, was also going to that school. You’re talking about a microbiotic organism challenging someone’s immune system.

How did the school react to your illness?

I went from being a really great teacher with a fantastic file—I kept the library open through the summer; I was the county librarian—and suddenly I went to being enemy number one.

And you still want your job back?

Why would I leave an $82,000-a-year job that I was really good at and that I was doing for a long time, for the chance to earn $400 a week [in workers compensation]? I’m a very tech-savvy librarian. I led the county in automation. I launched customized Web sites for all the classrooms. I can totally work for them. I can do everything that I did—podcasting, videoconferencing, grant writing. And if they wanted me to teach a lesson, I could do an interactive lesson through distance learning. Our school already does distance learning. They have the machinery. I can totally do all of it—except walk my class out during a fire drill. But my aide could. 

So who is in your job now?

I’ve been a librarian for more than 20 years, and they have a replacement who is costing $30,000 less. What a cool way to weed out your top paid people—just never fix the leak. I have tons of pictures of that leak. I’m tired of that leak. I taught with tarp hanging over the books for 13 years. It’s still leaking! It’s absurd.

What are you suing for?

I filed a $2 million lawsuit in federal court against the Library School District for disability discrimination and breach of contract [that would have ensured employment while on workers' comp].

Are you looking for another job?

I’ve been trying. But I’m at a disadvantage because I have to work from home.

How are you surviving financially?

I have no money. They blocked my workers' comp. On the one hand, they took me to court to say that I was too sick and couldn’t come in so I should be fired. But on the workers' comp side, they’re saying there’s nothing wrong with me, and I should be coming in.

When was your last paycheck?

I’ve had no money coming in since April '07. I had three months’ savings. It’s not just living, it’s the fact that I’m spending an incredible amount of money on doctors. It’s huge. I’m getting money from my parents, who are 85 and live in Florida, and this shouldn’t be the end of their lives. I’m a good $80,000 in the hole, easily. 

What are your future plans?

I really want to get well enough to speak. Indoor air quality of schools is a huge issue, but people are not getting it. I’m just drafting a pitch to some publishers. I really want to write a book about this. My journey is absurd. I’ve put a Web site together. It’s brand new, and I’m still tweaking it. 

What lesson have you learned from this?

You can’t assume that they (the school district) are on your side and that they’re looking out for you. They made me sick. They changed my whole damn life. I don’t live with my own family anymore. And they fired me.