Teacher let go on flag refusal
BRIDGEPORT CT:
A teacher at Kolbe-Cathedral High School has been dismissed for reportedly refusing to display the U.S. flag in his classroom. Stephen Vincent Kobasa, an English teacher at the Catholic high school since 1999, was fired Thursday after he refused to follow what he called a "policy which has no official documentation" that requires the flag to be displayed in classrooms of all parochial schools of the Diocese of Bridgeport. Kobasa said Friday that his careerlong personal policy has been not to display the flag of any nation in his classroom. Such displays violate a deeply held religious conviction, he said.
When a new diocesan policy was enacted at the beginning of the academic year requiring the Pledge of Allegiance be recited in classrooms every morning, Kobasa said he reached a compromise with school and diocese officials. "I went to the principal [Jo-Anne Jakab] with a compromise that they could have a flag in the classroom for that period of time," Kobasa said. But, according to the New Haven resident, on Sept. 30 he was called to meet with diocesan Supt. of Schools Margaret A. Dames and issued "a mandate" that he fly the flag or be fired. On Thursday, Kobasa said he was "told to turn in his key" since he refused to comply with the directive. Kobasa said Jakab told him that an unidentified colleague had registered a complaint about his refusal to observe the flag policy.
Joseph McAleer, spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport, declined Friday to elaborate on Kobasa's dismissal, saying it is diocesan policy not to comment on personnel issues.
"Our Catholic schools provide a dynamic learning environment in which respect for the opinions of others, as well as respect for school property, are both key components," McAleer said in a statement posted on the diocese's Web site.
"The Diocese of Bridgeport has long believed that the American flag is an important fixture in its Catholic school classrooms," the statement said.
Kobasa had also appealed directly to Bishop William E. Lori but did not receive a response. The teacher said in an e-mail to friends, a copy of which was provided to the Connecticut Post, that "to concur in this policy would be to act against my conscience as a believing Roman Catholic Christian."
He said in the e-mail that his beliefs on the issue are based on St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians, which states that nationality and gender are not a prerequisite for faith. Although he filed a grievance with the diocesan school district, Kobasa said he has no plans to file a lawsuit.
"What chance would I have? It's a private institution and they basically have the right to any policy," he said. "That was never the point of this."
Avery Eady, a Kolbe-Cathedral junior, said she and her classmates were informed of Kobasa's firing Thursday by the teacher and Jakab. "Personally, I think he was a good teacher. He was passionate about his subjects," she said. "It doesn't make sense to lose a good teacher over a stupid policy like that."
Frank Washkuch Jr., who covers Stratford, can be reached at 330-6287.