Thousands of alumni of Paramus Catholic High School and their friends and family have signed a strongly-worded open letter to school officials chastising the school for firing a female dean who married a woman
PARAMUS - Thousands of alumni of Paramus Catholic High School and their friends and family have signed an impassioned open letter to school officials chastising the school for firing a female dean who married a woman.
The letter, written to President James P. Vail and school administrators, was issued days after a judge refused to throw out the suit brought against the school by former Dean Kate Drumgoole, who was terminated because she is in a same-sex marriage.
It demands the school apologize and enact policies against sex and gender discrimination following the firing of a gay woman who has filed a lawsuit. Nearly 4,000 people had signed the letter by Thursday morning.
The alumni say they are disappointed with the school's decision to terminate Drumgoole.
"By your decision, you perpetuate misinformed hate against individuals on the basis of their gender and sexuality," the letter states. "From your position of power and privilege, you deny lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students a psychologically safe learning environment."
A woman who answered the phone in Vail's office referred all questions about the letter to the Archdiocese of Newark. Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said officials there would have no comment because of the pending litigation.
Drumgoole filed suit in Superior Court in Hackensack alleging that Paramus Catholic, Vail and the Archdiocese of Newark violated discrimination laws and inflicted emotional distress.
In court, the school has conceded it fired Drumgoole because she married a woman, but said the school did not violate New Jersey Laws Against Discrimination because it is not unlawful for churches to require that employees subscribe to their beliefs.
'We fired dean because she married a woman'
The letter writers point to a passage written by Vail in the school's 2017 yearbook:
"Paramus Catholic's diversity enhances our standards as a college preparatory school. You can become a citizen of the world here, which will prepare you for the real world of college and career. You can only learn so much in a school where everyone is just like you."
"Mr. Vail, the real world is here. The real world is in the hallways just outside your office," states the letter. "The real world is made of human beings who find themselves at the intersection of complex social identities. The real world has heard your decision and bears the consequences of your decision."
The letter urges Vail to apologize to Drumgoole and to all students at Paramus Catholic and to enact policies against discrimination based on "biological sex, sex assigned at birth, gender identity, gender expression, sexual attraction, romantic attraction, and marriage status."
The alumni also ask the school to develop diversity workshop training for administrators, teachers, and students "so as to empower them to become citizens of the real world."
"Empower them to create a world that accommodates and builds on our diversities," states the letter, which is signed "Concerned Alumni of Paramus Catholic High School."
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.