James Vail.jpg

Paramus Catholic president Jim Vail speaks June 9, 2016, during the Paramus Catholic commencement at The Prudential Center. Newark, NJ

(Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media)

The Archdiocese of Newark announced Monday in a letter to parents that two top leaders at Paramus Catholic High School have been placed on leave.

The leave was effective Monday for President James Vail and Principal Stephanie Macaluso, and Tuesday was the first day neither were in school, said Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese.

Goodness would not say why the pair were placed on leave, only that it was a "personnel matter." He would not say whether it was a paid leave.

The school made headlines after admitting in a legal motion that it had fired a dean, Kate Drumgoole, after it discovered she was married to a woman. Drumgoole filed a lawsuit in Hackensack Superior Court alleging that the school, its president and the archdiocese discriminated against her.

The removal of Vail and Macaluso comes three weeks after thousands of alumni and their friends and family signed an impassioned open letter to school officials chastising them for firing Drumgoole.

The Archbishop of Newark issued a statement last month in support of Paramus Catholic High School's decision to fire Drumgoole.

It's not clear if the moves against Vail and Macaluso were related to the firing of Drumgoole.

The letter to parents and guardians was signed by Margaret A. Dames, secretary for Catholic Education/Superintendent of Schools, who said that she, along with John O' Neil, associate superintendent of Secondary Schools in the Archdiocese will be leading the school.

"In the near future we hope to name an interim principal," Dames wrote in the letter. "Please be assured that your child's education at Paramus Catholic Regional High School will continue as usual." More than 1,500 students attend the co-ed school.

Christine Robert, who has a daughter in her sophomore year at the high school, said she was "unnerved" when she read the email. She said the school has typically been transparent, and that it was "so like the archdiocese" to not disclose why the administrators were put on leave.

"Is there a larger issue here that we're just not aware of?" Robert remarked. "I can't imagine it but your mind starts to go to these places."

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.

CORRECTION: The spokesman for the Archdiocese was previously misidentified.