Mary Tracy, the Eastside Catholic School president whose decision to
dismiss her school’s gay vice principal for marrying his partner sparked widespread backlash from students and faculty, has resigned from her position at the Sammamish, Washington school. KING5 reports:
Sister Mary Tracy submitted her
resignation to school trustees Sunday, effective immediately. In an
email sent to parents and staff Tuesday night, the school said a search
for her replacement will begin shortly.
"For Sister Mary it was a difficult but
necessary decision so that a new leader can be brought in to ensure the
entire Eastside Catholic community is on a positive path forward," the
email said.
The
news was a welcome change for critic’s of the school’s decision to
remove Vice Principal Mark Zmuda (pictured right), who lost his job when
administrators learned he had married another man. Zmuda was told that
he could keep his job if he dissolved his marriage, but refused the offer.
Zmuda’s termination was not well-received by the students and faculty at the school. Protests were organized on campus and a ‘Z Day’ protest event was planned for later this month.
While there is no word yet on whether Zmuda will be reinstated to his
position, supportive parents see Tracy's resignation as a positive first
step.
"This opens the door for us being able to
have an open communication with the board about other issues that need
to be resolved," said Eastside Catholic parent Florence Colburn.
Colburn and more than twenty other
parents met Tuesday night to discuss a petition for the community and
for school board members, asking for changes beyond a new president.
That includes alterations to campus policy on who can teach, to Catholic
law on gay marriage and for Zmuda to be reinstated.
"I don't know if fair is the right
word," said Colburn of Sr. Tracy's resignation, "But it is the correct
outcome. There just have been too many misrepresentations."
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