Two Oregon Educators Fired After Speaking Out About Gender Identity Policies

North Middle School Assistant Principal, Rachel Damiano, and 7th-grade science teacher, Katie Medart, were fired at a public hearing of the Grants Pass 7 school district in Oregon on Thursday. The two women were each terminated by a 4-3 vote of the board after hours of statements, questioning, and debate.

The swing vote in both cases was cast by Cliff Kuhlman, a retired banker and real estate broker, who has served on the board since 1986. At multiple points throughout the proceeding, Kuhlman expressed that he could not hear the discussion, did not know what he was voting on, and did not understand the nuances of Rachel and Katie’s individual cases. Kuhlman asked the chair, rectal surgeon Scott Nelson, to abstain from voting on Katie’s case. He was told that he was not allowed to abstain, and ultimately voted to terminate.

In a statement to 4W, Rachel and Katie described the board’s decision as “disheartening, unjust, and surreal.”

Rachel and Katie were accused of using school district time or resources in the creation or promotion of “I Resolve,” a grassroots movement founded by the two educators which proposes “solutions for education policies” to address the conflict of rights arising from new “gender identity” laws and policies impacting schools in Oregon and across the country. In March, the two posted a video on Youtube describing their proposal, which includes separating school bathrooms by physical anatomy.

Although Rachel and Katie never identified themselves as Grants Pass employees in the video or I Resolve materials, a local parent recognized them and complained to the school. District Superintendent Kirk Kolb, who had been aware of the I Resolve proposals in the development stages and never expressed concern (he even offered to bring the proposals to the school board for consideration), threw the women under the bus after receiving complaints from an extreme minority.