Local

Lawyer: Teachers were ‘forced to resign’ because they are gay

KING COUNTY, Wash. — The lawyer for two teachers at Kennedy Catholic High School says nothing about their resignation was voluntary.

The teachers are gay, but they were hoping to keep their jobs after telling the school about their engagements.

Instead, their lawyer says it turned into a conversation about when they would leave the school.

The teachers’ resignations have sparked protests by students at two Catholic high schools.

Their lawyer says they had no choice but to resign. She says they were told they would not get to keep their jobs and wouldn’t be offered contracts for next year.

And she insists neither the Archdiocese of Seattle nor Kennedy Catholic is being completely truthful about why they were let go.

"Their departure is not due to their sexual orientation, " said Shannon McMinimee, reading from a letter from the president of Kennedy Catholic, Michael Prato. “No.”

The lawyer for Paul Danforth and Michelle Beattie did not mince words: The highly regarded teachers are no longer at Kennedy Catholic High School because they are gay.

“They shared that information with their dean of students or administrator at the school in November,” said McMinimee, “ shortly after Paul became engaged, because they wanted to be transparent and their authentic selves,” said McMinimee.

She acknowledges that the teachers signed a contract with a morals clause but says they thought they could still keep their jobs.

“Clearly, it’s being applied to a very selective group,” McMinimee said. “People who are being honest about being gay and being engaged or married to people of the same sex.”

She was asked if they really thought they would not lose their jobs.

“I think that they hoped that there would be a path forward for them,” she said.

Danforth’s father taught at Kennedy Catholic long before he did. Beattie graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School.

Students at both schools, usually rivals, joined forces to fight for the teachers they believe were unfairly singled out.

“People who were in a relationship, in a gay relationship, were asked to resign,” said Emma Craig, a Blanchet High junior who planned Friday’s student protest. “So I expect the archdiocesearchdiocese should want them to give them their jobs back.”

Their lawyer says that isn’t likely.

“I think that ship has sailed,” said McMinimee. “I think, again, it’s really hard to go back someplace when you’re not wanted.”

In a statement, Archbishop Paul Etienne referred to “the right of each individual to make choices.”

But, he added, “some choices have particular consequences for those who represent the church in an official capacity.”

Their lawyer says the teachers are now looking for new jobs.