O’Hara Principal Fired, Says She Fended Off Harassment

The Inquirer reports: “The principal of Cardinal O’Hara High School claims that she was fired this week because she rebuffed advances from a prominent member of the school community, but the Archdiocese of Philadelphia says she lost her job because of poor leadership and vision.”

Marie Rogai, who became the school’s first female principal in 2010, says she “repeatedly” fended off physical contact from an unnamed, prominent volunteer in the school community. Archdiocese officials said they were unaware of those allegations, and would investigate. Rogai said, in an open letter to parents, that the only direct reasons she was given for dismissal “were that she was ‘too direct’ and did not smile enough.” “”What lesson will this send to the students?” Rogai wrote to parents. “Will they be learning the lesson that hard work, dedication and commitment are their own reward? Or will the message be that some people have more ‘pull’ than others?”