BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — Mark Krolikowski, who taught at St Francis Preparatory School for 32 years, has filed suit against the Queens, New York, school for wrongful termination based on gender-identity discrimination, The Huffington Post reports.
In an editor’s note, The Huffington Post says it has tried to verify Krolikowski’s preferred pronoun usage but has not yet received a response, adding that a number of news reports and Krolikowski’s lawyer use male pronouns when referring to Krolikowski.
According to the Post, parents began to complain to school officials because of Krolikowski’s increasingly feminine appearance. “Once Principal Brother Leonard Conway learned that Krolikowski was transgender, he told the teacher that being so was “worse than gay.” Conway allegedly prohibited Krolikowski from appearing at public events as a woman, according to ABC News.
“We’ve been trying to resolve this case out of court for months, but they refused to do so,” Krolikowski told the New York Post. “They’ve forced us to file.”
Phil Semprevivo, a lawyer for St Francis, which is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic archdiocese, says the school denies the allegations, adding that Krolikowski was terminated for “appropriate reasons.”
Krolikowski once taught a class called Human Sexuality and Love, which included lessons on sexual orientation, according to a court filing. The teacher is seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress and economic loss.
Landing image: Huffington Post
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