Parents Angered After School Board Fires Lesbian Principal

Parents were in an uproar Thursday night, as the Paradise Valley, Ariz., school district voted to unanimously fire a lesbian high school principal.

Earlier this month, Davis was told her contract would not be renewed because administrators had a problem with "her leadership ability and style," according to the Arizona Republic. However, several parents expressed their praise for Davis, including Shelly Hickerson, the parent of a former student and a member of the group that decided to hire Davis.

Hickerson wrote a letter to school administrators, claiming that a board member had expressed concern about Davis's "lifestyle."

The Paradise Valley Unified School District voted 5-0 not to renew Cynthia Davis's contract at a meeting that ended with an angry outburst from parents, students, and fellow educators.

Governing-board president Sue Skidmore told the Republic that Davis was let go because of a personnel issue, and would not comment on the full reason as to why her contract was not renewed.

After the board meeting, Davis told the Republic that she has always separated her private life from her career, and that the only way a school board member would have known that she was a lesbian was if someone else disclosed her sexual orientation.

"I never wanted to believe that this could be the issue but I guess I was wrong," she said. "I don't like this. People should be judged on who they are as a person, not their orientation. This has nothing to do with the job I have done as a principal."

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