The removal of LGBTQ-supportive teachers St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, New Hampshire, has sparked outrage among the school’s community, according to a report in the Boston Globe:
Parents, students, alumni, and some teachers are outraged after the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic high school recently opted not to renew the contracts of four teachers, claiming that the school did so because the teachers identify with or support the LGBTQ community.
School President Paul Marquis denied the claims, though he acknowledged that contracts for four teachers were not renewed last week, and that two others had voluntarily resigned. The Globe independently confirmed that a third teacher decided to retire, and a fourth resigned in protest over the weekend.
“While we are not able to share details regarding specific personnel decisions out of respect for privacy and confidentiality, these four non-renewals had absolutely nothing to do with LGBTQ+ identity or personal alignment or views,” Marquis said. He told parents that it is customary for the school to make personnel decisions at this time of year and start recruiting new faculty for the upcoming year.
“This idea of there’s nothing to do with religious preference of LGBTQ+ issues and so forth, that’s nonsense and everybody knows it,” said Jeff Thomson, who taught at the school from 2004 to 2015 and served on the school board for six years prior to that.
“As a former faculty member, I’m appalled,” he added.
Read the complete Boston Globe story here.
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