Daughter of Lesbian Couple Expelled - Women Plan to Protest Outside Ontario Christian School

Daily Bulletin ^ | September 25, 2005 | Mason Stockstill

[Bonaparte]

Daughter of lesbian couple expelled
Women plan to protest outside Ontario Christian school

By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer

ONTARIO - A Chino couple plans to picket a Christian school in Ontario on Monday because officials expelled their daughter after learning her parents are lesbians. Tina Clark said the superintendent of Ontario Christian High School gave her a letter explaining that 14-year-old freshman Shay Clark was being kicked out because her parents' sexual orientation is "inconsistent with a positive Christian life style."

"My sexual orientation should have nothing to do with her getting an education," Tina Clark said. "I'm the one that's gay. My daughter's not. Why should her civil rights be infringed?"

Shay was crushed by what happened earlier this week, which she said came as a surprise.

"I knew that I might have problems," Shay said. "But I never thought it would go that far."

Principal Tim Hoekstra and Superintendent Len Stob did not return repeated calls Thursday and Friday seeking comment. Phone calls to several school trustees also were not returned.

Clark and her partner, Mitzi Gray, have been together for 22 years. They didn't expect Shay would experience discrimination at the school because her older sister had attended Ontario Christian schools from sixth through ninth grade. Additionally, Shay said her friends knew she lived in a home with two mothers, and "it was never a problem."

On Tuesday, however, that changed. Gray said when she went to an unrelated parent meeting that Clark was unable to attend, school administrators were confused by her different last name.

The next day, both women were called in and asked point-blank if they were gay, Clark said. When they said they were, Shay was expelled.

"These are the same people that patted me on the back the Friday before that and asked me how my week had gone," Clark said.

The family's situation is not unusual, said Johnny Chagolla of the Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, a gay-rights organization in San Bernardino. Often, he said, students at religious schools are more likely to face discrimination.

"In cases like this, there's a concern," Chagolla said. "A lot of (religious school officials) say they're very open and affirming, and then you see this, and it contradicts what they're saying."

A similar situation arose earlier this year at a Catholic school in Costa Mesa, when parents pressured administrators into barring gay parents after a gay couple enrolled their twin sons at the school.

Ontario Christian is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, a denomination that considers homosexuality a "condition of disordered sexuality," according to the Web site of the Christian Reformed Church of North America.

The church considers the act of homosexual sex to be a sin, which "must be condemned as incompatible with obedience to the will of God as revealed in scripture." However, according to the group's Web site, the church should help gay Christians and "give them support toward healing and wholeness."

As the family gathered outside the school for a news conference Friday, students and staff peered at the scene out of the windows. Receptionist Cory Overstreet said administrators would not be available to comment.

According to the letter signed by Stob, school officials were not aware of Clark and Gray's relationship at the time Shay was admitted.

But both women said that question was never asked, and that both of their names were included in all of the required paperwork.

"Had we known they were against homosexuality, we would never have sought this school out," Gray said. "It wasn't like we announced it to the world, but it wasn't a secret, either. We've always been a family."

Shay's educational future is unclear. At first, Clark had hoped there was a way Shay could return to Ontario Christian. But now, no one in the family backs that idea.

The family is looking for another private school Shay can attend, but the admissions process is typically long, and she might not get in anywhere this year. Public school will probably be the answer for now, Clark said. After she gets to a new school, the family may consider legal action, Clark said.

The expulsion was difficult for Shay, who said she is upset about being separated from her friends.

As for the school's leadership, "They should be embarrassed," Shay said.

- Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail mason.stockstill@dailybulletin.com , or by phone at (909) 483-9354

[Rytwyng]

Thanks. It's great to know they are still biblical. That's quite a relief.

[streetpreacher]

Bingo

[freedumb2003]

adios troll

[freedumb2003]

3 more and I get the Will Pitt "I have outed more Trolls than anyone" award ;)

[AnAmericanMother]

I think one of the issues here is the location of the other children . . . i.e. away from their parents and under the protection of the school.

Since my mom is a professional dancer, my kids have met LOTS of homosexuals, especially gay men. And when they have encountered these folks, hubby and I have explained to them that this is wrong, and we've discussed why, and also why we don't reject these folks out of hand but try to treat them with charity and respect despite our differences.

BUT . . . we are there to monitor the conversations and keep an eye on things generally. In the context of a school, the parents of other children are NOT there to do that.

So, (as appears from the article) the girls' friends knew her "parents" were lesbians, and the girl made some sort of public statement at a football game, then it's clear that the girl is on board with her "parents'" views and was sharing them with other kids at the school.

. . . as a parent I would be very concerned about what this girl was telling my children when I wasn't around. The school is "in loco parentis" and has a responsibility to keep a Christian environment because that's what they hold themselves out to be. If I sent my kid to a supposedly Christian school, I would not want her being proselytized by a pro-gay activist fourteen year old.

It's not the same as mature, adult Christians being in contact with homosexual acquaintances, while keeping a close eye on their kids' interactions with said acquaintances. And it's certainly not the same as Jesus moving amongst sinners . . . Jesus could take care of Himself, young and impressionable kids probably not.