School Fires Theatre Director After Finding Out She's Gay

Monica Toro Lisciandro stands in front of a mural painted by artist Mary Williams at the Viera Studio for the Performing Arts in Suntree. (Photo: TIM SHORTT/FLORIDA TODAY)

A part-time theatre teacher is FL is claiming she was fired from her job after admitting she was gay. Monica Toro Lisciandro says that on Oct 2nd, she was called into a meeting with school administrators at Covenant Christian School, who questioned her lifestyle and activities.

According to Ms. Lisciando to local news, an assistant principal at the Palm Bay school asked whether “she was in a relationship with a woman, she had attended a pride festival, and she hosted an LGBTQ group in her studio.”

After she said yes, she was dismissed from the school where she had taught for the past three years.

Head of School, Lorne Wenzel, later wrote an email to parents of Lisciando’s students.

"I am sorry to say that for personal reasons, Mrs. Lisciandro is not able to continue teaching our musical theater class. We are aggressively pursuing another teacher to finish the class and (direct) our play, and I will keep you posted," Wenzel wrote.

While Covenant Christian School does have a non-discrimination policy, not surprisingly it does not extend to sexual orientation.

Ms. Lisciandro spoke to local news:

“It’s been a very difficult situation, because my life has been dedicated to children and making them feel seen and heard and loved, no matter who they are," Lisciandro said.

“And so to think that something like this could happen to them makes me feel really upset and angry, because they deserve better. So I can’t be quiet about it. I can’t be silent about it," she said.

In addition to being gay, the school apparently had an issue with her hosting Rainbow Project LGBTQ allyship group meetings at her own studio.

I could write a novel about the hypocrisies of Christian organizations when it comes to LGBTQ related issues.

While Covenant Christian School seems to abide by Leviticus 18:22, which says “[Men] shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination”, I seriously doubt they abide by Leviticus 25:44 which states, “You may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property”.

So I guess picking and choosing your morals is exactly what Covenant Christian School stands for.

Behavior and policies like that have nothing to do with scripture. They’re based in fear and hate and the leaders at Covenant Christian School are full of both.