Letting Children of Dying Father Be Together “Best for Family”

EAST HAVEN, CT — The Board of Education wants the community to know that it granted a dying father’s wish to have his two children attend the same school together this coming September because “it was in the best interest of the family.”

The board Tuesday night granted, by unanimous vote, the wish of Brian Savo, who has been heroically battling ALS for nearly a decade, will be sending his son to seventh grade at East Haven Academy and his daughter to fourth grade at the same school.

Board of Education Vice-Chairperson Christine Maisano, who made the motion to grant Savo’s wish, said “it was a difficult process to reach this decision because of rules, policies, and legalities that the board has to follow.”

But, again, she said, the board did so for the family.

Maisano said it needs to be noted that the vote was an “exception,” and whether or how the lottery policy works in the future is still to be determined. She said the board is currently working on a new policy.

Maisano said if another hardship case arises in the future it would be helpful to have a policy in place to advise the board.

Following the board’s vote, Savo said he was thankful to all who supported him in his quest.

“It is a great move for my family - a great move for the town. There are no words to describe my feelings,” an emotional Savo said in a telephone conversation. “I just can’t thank everyone enough for the support they’ve shown my family.”

The board’s vote on Tuesday night came after an earlier meeting at which the board did not take a vote to allow the kids to attend the same school together. Instead, they decided to have Brian Savo work on a policy that the board said needs to be in place, first, before it can be enacted. That policy was what allowed the board to move forward with the approval, Savo said.

Savo has a dying wish that his children could attend school together so they can comfort one another as he continues to die. Savo has been heroically battling ALS for the past nine years, and he tearfully pleaded last month with the Board of Education to honor his dying request.

The first time he spoke to the board about the issue, Savo said: "Since my daughter's 3 both of them have been going down to Washington, D.C. to fight for patient's rights and to fight for me. Well I'm here to fight for them. If any of you are parents, you'd be doing the same exact thing," Savo said while becoming emotionally distraught during the school board meeting.”

At the meeting Savo pleaded with board members to do the right thing. Savo, 42, a life-long East Haven resident, said his wife was six months pregnant with their second-child when he was diagnosed with ALS.
He said his children wake up with him everyday and he asked school officials if they understood what it's like to not be able to get out of bed and have his two children, ages 11 and 9, and his wife get him out of bed, dress and feed him.

After the board originally denied Savo’s request, Michelle A. DeLucia, chairperson of the board, issued a statement that in 2010, “the Board adopted a lottery system for admission to East Haven Academy. As adopted, the lottery system does not make provision for exceptions under any circumstances. Since that time, the Administration has faithfully implemented the lottery system for admission to East Haven Academy, and no exceptions have been granted.”

“Speaking as an individual Board member, I believe that an exception in this case is warranted, but a decision must be made by the full Board. When the Board addresses Mr. Savo's request, I will be recommending that the Board establish a Committee to review the lottery policy at East Haven Academy and to recommend to the Board standards for making hardship exceptions to the policy in the future," DeLucia’s statement concluded.

Savo said he realized the board was in a “difficult situation.”

“But I also think that god forbid this happens to anyone else that we have layed some groundwork here to help the next family,” Savo said.