Is New Jersey Catholic School Anti-LGBT? Lesbian Sues After Alleged Firing For Same-Sex Marriage

A Roman Catholic school in New Jersey is under fire after allegedly violating state discrimination laws. Kate Drumgoogle, former dead of guidance and head basketball coach for Paramus Catholic High School, is suing the institution on claims she was fired because she’s married to a woman, ABC reported.

An attorney for the school was set to ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit in court Friday, explaining in court documents Drumgoogle wasn’t let go from her position due to her sexual orientation but because she didn’t uphold the tenants of the faith when she entered into a same-sex marriage.

According to Drumgoogle, who was fired in January shortly after administrators discovered she was married to a woman, other faculty members have been allowed to keep their employment at the school despite their failures to adhere to the church’s tenets.

In the lawsuit, she points out that there are some members who have been divorced, have children out of wedlock, cohabitate with members of the opposite sex. She also cited another teach who is still employed at the school who is gay and mentioned nude photos of another teach have circulated online.

“There are people who are living their lives that go against the tenants of the church, and they’re still employed there,” Drumgoogle, who believes she was specifically singled out, said during an interview with North Jersey.com.

Drumgoogle’s history with Paramus Catholic High School extends well beyond her years as a counselor and coach. She graduated from the school in 2001 and was also a star point guard and two-time captain of the girls’ basketball team.

She was hired by the school as an assistant basketball coach in 2005 while she was still an undergrad student at St Thomas Aquinas College in Rockland County. After receiving her master’s degree in social work from New York University, she was hired by Paramus Catholic as a guidance counselor.

“I was proud to work there,” Drumgoogle said. “Proud to be part of such a diverse school community that exposed students to so much, and I also felt it was an honor to serve my alma mater.”

Drumgoogle said she prided herself on keeping her personal life private, especially when working with adolescents, and had only told one of her colleagues about her marriage to wife Jaclyn Vancore.

As per Drumgoogle’s lawsuit, administration found out about Drumgoogle’s same-sex marriage after her wife’s sister, Elaine Vanore, allegedly created a Facebook account and sent picture messages of the couple’s August 2014 wedding to the Paramus Catholic Facebook page, the school’s alumni association page and to the personal page of the school’s president James P. Vail.

According to Drumgoogle, she was told she would be fired if she didn’t resign by Jan. 15. She ended up being terminated by Vail Jan. 25.

Only recently has Drumgoogle managed to secure a new job as a temporary teacher replacement at a public school for the upcoming school year. Since being fired eight months ago, she’s only worked for one month.