New Jersey, US: School Board Told To Get Rid Of Transgendered Teacher

School Board Told To Get Rid Of Transgendered Teacher
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
February 25, 2006 - 12:01 am ET

(Toms River, New Jersey) The Eagleswood School District will meet Monday to hear a parent's demand that a transgendered substitute teacher be either fired or parents allowed to have their children taught by someone else.

Lily B. McBeth became a substitute teacher after retiring from her job as a medical marketing executive. At age 70 she says she knows something about kids. Before transitioning last year she fathered and raised three of her own.

The school district says that her teaching record is among the best in the state.

But none of that is good enough for parent Mark Schnepp.

Schnepp has two children attending school in district. He says that the idea of someone who had a sex change teaching his children is an affront to his convictions.

"It violates my religious beliefs," the 39-year-old told the Asbury Park Press.

Earlier this week he took out a full-page newspaper ad urging parents to attend the Board of Education's Monday meeting, where school officials plan to discuss the situation in private session.

The state's largest LGBT civil rights organization plans to be there too.

New Jersey courts have ruling in other cases that it is illegal to discriminate against the transgendered, but the state's nondiscrimination law does not specifically name transsexuals as a protected category.

The law absolutely protects Lily McBeth, but make no mistake: Her situation proves why we want the state legislature to amend the state's Law Against Discrimination specifically to include the transgender community. It would give the case law extra power," said Barbra Casbar, vice-chair of Garden State Equality.

The Eagleswood School District is in Ocean County the scene of a bitter fight to win spousal benefits for the domestic partner of a dying police officer.

State law leaves it up to municipalities to decide whether to grant benefits to the same-sex partners of workers.

After months of refusing to consider the benefits county freeholders agreed earlier this month to Lt. Laurel Hester's final request following a public outcry.

Hester died February 18.

"The good citizens of Ocean County proved their fairness with their outrage over the treatment of Laurel Hester in the months before she died," said Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality.

"We believe Ocean County will now rise to the occasion in support of Lily McBeth, whose reputation is unsurpassed. A great teacher is a great teacher, period.