A local teacher has been fired from a Catholic grade school after a parent reportedly complained about her sexual orientation.
Margie Winters, who married her wife in Boston in 2007, taught at Waldron Mercy Academy in Merion for eight years. Most recently, she served as director of religious education.
Winters told the Philadelphia Inquirer she was open with principal Nell Stetser from the beginning about her orientation and her marriage and was told she could be out to faculty and staff but remain closeted around parents and students.
Winters said that request was difficult but she kept a low profile during her tenure at Waldron Mercy.
That is until two parents learned she was in a same-sex marriage and filed complaints. One parent allegedly complained to the school and the other to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to the Inquirer.
On June 22, Winters said she received a letter from Stetser asking her to resign, which she refused. The school subsequently fired her.
Stetser provided the following statement to PGN:
“I cannot discuss a specific personnel matter. The primary consideration that guided my decision-making process was to sustain the Catholic identity of Waldron Mercy Academy. For the privilege of calling ourselves Catholic, we adhere to the teachings of the Church.”
Archdiocese of Philadelphia spokesperson Kenneth Gavin told PGN the school operated of its own accord and the archdiocese was not involved in the termination decision.
“Waldron is a private Catholic school and it is not in any way under the administrative purview of the Archdiocese,” Gavin said. “As such, personnel decisions at that school are made locally without oversight from the archdiocese.”
Shortly after the firing, parents received an email from Stetser notifying them of Winters’ termination. The email reportedly did not state the reason for Winters’ firing outright, but alluded that her marriage was against church teachings.
The letter also praised Winters’ “amazing contributions” to the school.
It is unclear if Winters will attempt legal redress. Pennsylvania lacks a statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, but Lower Merion Township, where the school is located, does have such a measure.
The law has a religious exemption for any “religious corporation, organization or association, not supported in whole or in part by governmental appropriations.” However, according to the Waldron Mercy website, the school has received more than $270,000 in state Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits. It has also received funding via the state Educational Improvement Tax Credit.
A support group has been formed on Facebook for Winters called “Stand with Margie”: www.facebook.com/standwithmargie. The group is also raising money for Winters via GoFundMe, www.gofundme.com/yqj2aug8. n