is forcing an openly gay elementary principal out of his job at the end of this school year, and the principal says his sexual orientation is the reason.

has led

for 10 years. Capri Parker, president of the school's parent-teacher group, calls him "fabulous" and said "everything he has done has made our school better."

A couple years ago, Klansnic divorced his wife and let teachers and parents know he is gay, Parker said.

Last spring, the school board voted not to extend Klansnic's contract beyond this school year. Thursday night,

at the end of the year. Both were public votes taken without public discussion.

Within hours of the vote, media outlets including

and

ran the story.

Gresham-Barlow officials do not talk about personnel matters and by law, employee personnel records are private, said district communications director Athena Vadnais.

Vadnais noted that Oregon school boards can terminate an administrator's contract for "any cause the school board deems in good faith sufficient." She said the district is committed to providing a discrimination-free work environment, and its anti-discrimination policy specifically mentions sexual orientation.

Klansnic declined to discuss details of his case on the advice of his attorney but said he very much wanted to keep his job. "I love my job. I love working with kids."

North Gresham parents only learned a few weeks ago that the school would be losing its principal, Parker said. They have been told nothing about why Klansnic is getting the axe.

Parker says she has no idea why the district is ousting him, but says that as a member of the school's site council and representative on the districtwide parent-teacher council, she knows the school's performance record in detail, and there's nothing in it to suggest problems with Klansnic's performance, she said.

So Klansnic's assertion that his coming out as gay triggered the district's action seems credible, Parker said.

"He is a fabulous principal. My kids have loved him... I have seen everything he has done and built at this school," Parker said. The district's decision to remove him "is very unsettling. Everyone is upset. The staff is not happy about it at all. The parents that do know about it are not happy at all."

Klansnic's attorney,

said his supervisors did not tell him they objected to his sexual orientation, but the timing of their crackdown on him gave that away.

"You have a principal who is highly successful who is in the middle of his third three- year contract. Then he comes out of the closet and he is divorcing, and suddenly his work becomes deficient and he is being micromanaged."

Snyder said Klansnic wants to finish out the school year strong, in the interest of his North Gresham students, and did not seek or want media coverage of his circumstances.

She has filed a claim with the district to notify it that Klansnic is considering a discrimination suit

North Gresham elementary serves a diverse student body. Nearly two-thirds of the students are low-income. Slightly more than half the students are white and about 30 percent are Latino.

Last week and earlier this week,

.

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