SAMMAMISH

At a Jan. 24 parent and faculty meeting, Eastside Catholic High School’s board of trustees reaffirmed that it will not rehire Mark Zmuda, the school’s former vice principal. Zmuda had resigned after the school became aware of his same-sex marriage.

“The Board stated that Mr. Zmuda has acknowledged he was aware of Catholic doctrine and further knew he was not in full compliance with his employment agreement,” the school said in a statement.

“At tonight’s parent and faculty meeting, the Board reiterated that the school is focused on a positive path forward guided by its three touchstones of Academic Excellence, Relationships and Servant Leadership.  Eastside Catholic will remain a Catholic school and will support the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The independent Catholic school in Sammamish has been in the news since mid-December when word of Zmuda’s leaving the school led to student and parent protests. An ongoing petition campaign is trying to get Zmuda rehired and “to change the Catholic Church’s opposition [to] gay marriage,” according to the campaign.

Eastside Catholic said that Zmuda resigned during a meeting with school officials “for violating his signed agreement to abide by Catholic Church teachings.”

On Jan. 21, the school announced the resignation of its president and CEO, Sister Mary Tracy, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

“Sister Mary came to this decision after much prayer and reflection,” an Eastside Catholic statement said. “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 moving forward on a positive path.”

Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain said in a Jan. 15 statement that Eastside Catholic’s requirement that the vice principal quit after it learned of his same-sex marriage was not intended to be discriminatory but held to church teaching and the school's Catholic mission.

“Leaders of Catholic schools are charged with the responsibility of both imparting and modeling” the Catholic Church's teaching, he said, adding that the decision by the board and administrators of Eastside Catholic to ask Zmuda to resign “was made after a great deal of prayer and consultation.”

“In no way was their goal to be discriminatory to anyone but to be faithful to their mission as a Catholic school,” the archbishop said. “The archdiocese supports their decision. The decision has been misunderstood and mischaracterized by some, and we now have an opportunity to help our students learn even more about Catholic teaching.”

A statement from the school, released in January, said all school employees are required to sign an agreement in the employee handbook stating that “the public behaviors of our faculty and staff must at all times be consistent with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The school added that the Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage. The church teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman and sex outside marriage is a sin.

It also noted that when Zmuda “married his same-sex partner, the school administration was left with no acceptable alternative that would allow him to remain eligible for employment at Eastside Catholic School” and that Sister Mary Tracy “had no choice other than to discuss resignation.”

The school’s statement acknowledged that students have expressed their views regarding Zmuda's dismissal.

“We are proud of our students. Throughout this challenging time, they have been respectful and thoughtful in asking questions and we will continue to offer ways to help our students work through this issue, understand Catholic teaching and to express their thoughts in a manner that allows [Eastside Catholic] to effectively fulfill its educational mission as a Catholic school,” it said. “Administrators at the school have met with students, both individually and in small groups, listening to their concerns and opinions regarding this situation.”

Catholic News Service contributed to this report.

January 27, 2014