Major Donors Mary and Tim Boyle Condemn St. Mary's Academy Decision to Fire Gay Staffer

Two top donors to St. Mary's Academy are condemning the school's decision to fire a gay staffer.

Few people have given more to the school than longtime supporters Mary Boyle, St. Mary's class of 1967, and her husband, Tim Boyle, the CEO of Columbia Sportswear.

This afternoon, the Boyles reacted to a story WW published Tuesday night about the school's decision to withdraw a job offer it extended earlier to Lauren Brown, after Brown told a school official she was gay.

School officials have claimed that Brown told them she planned to marry her girlfriend, which, if true, would have conflicted with church doctrine. Brown denies she expressed such plans.

Here is the statement the Mary and Tim Boyle provided to WW:

The Boyles' statement comes after students, community members and elected officials—including State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, City Commissioner Nick Fish and Mayor Charlie Hales—criticized St. Mary's for its action.

School officials are engaged in damage control and have called a series of community meetings at the school auditorium tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 27 at 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.

"Please feel free to come alone or with your daughter(s) for this important conversation," wrote St. Mary's president, Christina Friedhoff, and principal, Kelli Clark, in a an email to the school community this afternoon.

WWeek 2015

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