Parents speculate that sudden dismissal of longtime principal at Catholic school in Fresno related to lesbian mom who once headed parent-teacher group
An apparent dispute between a pastor and the principal at St. Helen's School in Fresno over a lesbian mother serving as head of the school's Parent-Teacher Organization has led to the dismissal of the principal from a post she held for 15 years, the Fresno Bee reports.
The door to the office of principal Toni Amodio was sealed with a dead-bolt lock after her Feb. 26 departure from St. Helen's, but diocesan officials refused to tell the Bee the reason for the action or whether the decision was permanent.
Amodio did not return calls to the newspaper about the incident and the school referred theBee's reporter to the chancery for comment. "It's a personnel issue and by policy, we are not allowed to release anything," Richard Sexton, superintendent of Fresno diocesan schools told the Bee.
But some parents at the 265-student school offered their theories to the Bee about what was behind the principal's departure. "Several parents said they believe Amodio's departure is linked to ongoing friction she had with the Rev. Salvador Gonzalez, who arrived as the school's pastor about two years ago," the Bee reported. "They said Gonzalez had sought to have Robin McGehee, a lesbian and mother of a St. Helen's student, removed as president of the parent-teacher group in late 2008 after her public protest of Proposition 8, which declares marriage in California only to be between a man and a woman. Amodio supported McGehee, the parents said."
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