Battle lines of church and state: Fired over same-sex marriage, educator sues Paramus Catholic

By 2015, she had risen through the ranks at Paramus Catholic High School, her alma mater, to dean of guidance in just four years, and she had been serving as head coach of the elite Lady Paladins basketball team since the retirement of the longtime coach, Al Roth, the year before.

But in January, she lost it all.

Related:   Judge to decide soon whether Paramus Catholic same-sex discrimination suit can proceed

Drumgoole, of Bogota, says the school fired her from both of her jobs after administrators learned that she was married to a woman.

Now, she has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Hackensack alleging that Paramus Catholic; its president, James P. Vail; and the Archdiocese of Newark violated discrimination laws and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

The move comes amid a wave of dismissals of gay men and women from Catholic institutions across the United States — more than 50 have been fired or had employment offers rescinded since 2010, according to New Ways Ministry, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian and transgender Catholics. As with Drumgoole, most of these dismissals were based not on the workers’ sexual orientation but rather because they had entered into same-sex marriages as they became legal — first state by state, and then nationwide after the U.S. Supreme Court established a constitutional right to such unions last year.

A Superior Court judge will hear arguments today on a motion filed by Christopher Westrick, an attorney representing Paramus Catholic, Vail and the archdiocese, asking that Drumgoole’s lawsuit be dismissed. Westrick declined to comment when reached by phone on Thursday.

In his motion, he makes a church-versus-state argument. He says that the defendants did not violate New Jersey’s Laws Against Discrimination statute because that law allows the church to require employees to abide by the tenets of the Catholic faith. Further, the motion says the defendants’ conduct is protected under the First Amendment, which guarantees the free exercise of religion – and freedom from government entanglement within religion.

Drumgoole “was not terminated because of her sexual orientation,” the motion says. “Instead, she was terminated for violating the Ministerial Policies and the Code of Ethics – in failing to abide by the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith, i.e. by entering into a same sex marriage.”

In a certification filed with the court, Drumgoole said that her job never included religious instruction and that she believes her dismissal may be retaliatory because she notified school administrators that three 17-year-old students had been sexually abused by two Paramus Catholic employees who were chaperoning a trip to Europe in 2011.

Drumgoole also says that several Paramus Catholic faculty members are divorced, at least one has a child out of wedlock, various employees cohabitate with members of the opposite sex, at least one other teacher is gay, and nude photographs of another teacher have been circulated online.

She says she feels as though she was singled out. “There are people who are living lives that go against the tenets of the church and they’re still employed there,” Drumgoole said in an interview.

Proud of her work

Drumgoole graduated in 2001 from Paramus Catholic, where she was a star point guard and two-time captain of the girls basketball team. She was ecstatic when the school hired her, first as an assistant basketball coach in 2005, when she was still a student at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Rockland County, and later, in 2010, as a guidance counselor after she received a master’s degree in social work from New York University. She later earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Peter’s University.

“I was proud to work there,” she said of Paramus Catholic. “Proud to be a 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.”

As a guidance counselor, she set up tutoring for students who were struggling academically, counseled them on academics and college preparation, ensured that those who were learning-disabled received the help they needed, and interceded in bullying incidents. When she was promoted — first to director of guidance in 2013 and then dean of guidance in 2014 — her role became more administrative; she ran department meetings and organized award ceremonies, and she had contact with fewer students.

Drumgoole said that only one of her colleagues knew about her private life.

“I’m a private person,” Drumgoole said this week in an interview at the Closter office of one of her attorneys, Larry Kleiner. “Particularly when you work with adolescents, I believe your private life should be private.”

That privacy was undone on Jan. 8 when Elaine Vanore, the sister of Drumgoole’s wife, Jaclyn Vanore, created a Facebook account and sent messages that included pictures from Vanore and Drumgoole’s Aug. 2, 2014, wedding to the Paramus Catholic Facebook page, the school’s alumni association page and the personal account of Vail, the school’s president. Drumgoole said Elaine Vanore sent the private messages after an argument with her sister.

An attorney for Elaine Vanore said her client is not part of the motion being heard today because the count alleging discrimination on her part has been dropped. However, allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress and unlawful interference with Drumgoole’s employment still stand.

“We, of course, deny both of those entirely,” said Nicole G. McDonough, Elaine Vanore’s attorney.

Four days after the Facebook posts, which the lawsuit says were not made public, Drumgoole was suspended by Vail, who did not give a reason, and was told she would not be coaching that night’s basketball game, the lawsuit says.

“Her removal was extremely jarring for the children,” said Anna Shea, a Paramus resident whose daughter Jenna was on the basketball team at the time. Her other daughter, Amanda, who graduated in 2014, had Drumgoole as a guidance counselor.

“When the team took the floor you could see they were extremely upset,” Shea said. “It was a difficult game to watch.”

One girl left the court mid-game, crying, she said. “The kids were left with the impression that she was sick,” Shea said, referring to Drumgoole, “and the parents weren’t told anything.”

Shea found out this week from Drumgoole the reason she was fired.

“People have to live their lives and find their happiness,” Shea said. “It’s not for me to judge.”

Drumgoole was told that she would be fired if she didn’t resign by Jan. 15. But she wasn’t terminated until Jan. 25, a snow day, when Vail asked her to come to the school for a 5:30 p.m. meeting.

“This was her dream job. She excelled at it,” said Kleiner, Drumgoole’s attorney. “Her entire life was just turned upside down.”

Jaclyn Vanore, a teacher in the Palisades Park school system, said she received sympathy and a hug from her principal when administrators learned of the situation. “They were very good,” Vanore said.

‘Perfect role model’

Drumgoole’s support came from parents and others outside of Paramus Catholic.

Al Roth, her mentor and predecessor as the girls basketball coach, said Thursday that he was “still shaking my head” over Drumgoole’s treatment by the school.

“I can’t even pick a word. I was shocked, upset, annoyed,” Roth said. “She, within the building, did nothing wrong but continue to be a perfect role model.”

Roth first met Drumgoole in 1997, during her freshman year at Paramus Catholic, where she quickly made a mark on one of Bergen County’s most successful basketball programs.

He described her as “fiery, a leader and competitive in a strong way.” He recalled one game when she jammed her thumb, pulled it out herself, and kept playing.

“Attitude, poise and control,” Roth said. “We used to say it before every game. And that’s what she’s about.”

Her skills on the court and her personality twice garnered her the coveted position of team captain.

When she returned to the school as Roth’s assistant coach, he said, she had “a great dialogue with the players.” When she was named his successor, “it was well-deserved and well-earned,” he said.

Jeff Jasper, who has coached girls basketball at Pascack Valley High School for more than 40 years, said Drumgoole has the rare gift as a coach of also being a great teacher.

“She’s someone who can relate to the kids in a positive way and teach them — not just the game, but life lessons,” he said.

When Drumgoole wasn’t on the bench for several games, Jasper said he asked Roth about her.

“It struck me as, in this day and age, how is that possible?” Jasper said of her firing.

Jasper, who teaches history and government and is also the adviser of his school’s gay-straight alliance, said he can’t understand how administrators could let someone of her caliber go.

“She’s a great human being,” he said. “I’m not looking to convert anybody to my beliefs. But she’s innocent. What did she do but fall in love? How can that be bad?”

Roth, who had declined to talk to reporters about Drumgoole until she went public, said she’s like family to him.

“I’ve been raised Catholic, I know the doctrines,” Roth said. “But I’m also very loyal to people that are loyal to me.

“When I lost my wife two years ago, she could not have been more supportive,” he said. “She visited my wife while I worked and on weekends.”

It’s unclear what long-term effect, if any, Drumgoole’s termination will have on her career.

“That remains to be seen because we’re not sure what’s going to happen with the defendants in this case, if they’re contacted,” said Eric Kleiner, Drumgoole’s other attorney, who is not related to Larry Kleiner.

Jobless for all but one of the past eight months, Drumgoole said she has lined up a position in a public school for the coming school year to temporarily replace a teacher who is on maternity leave.

“Nobody should have to go through this,” she said. “I did my job very well, every day.”

Email: priesa@northjersey.com