Multiple local media outlets in Oklahoma made little secret of their displeasure over a local drag queen quitting her day job as an elementary school principal.
The story is about Shane Murnane, a man in his early 50s who parades around the Oklahoma City area dressed as a drag queen named Chantel Mandalay. In 2018, “Ms. Chantel” also appeared in the Metropolitan Library System’s Virtual Drag Queen Story Hour.
As previously reported by Blaze Media, last June the school board of Western Heights School District, an Oklahoma City school district, recently The school, which is being managed by the state on an interim basis after years of mismanagement, voted to install Mr Murnane as principal of John Glenn Elementary School, citing his “outstanding” academic performance.
Maanan’s position as a principal in charge of young schoolchildren quickly drew the ire of anti-woke campaigner Chaya Lajcik, known on social media as TikTok’s Lib. Ryczyk took issue not only with Murnane’s extracurricular activities as a drag queen, but also with the fact that Murnane was arrested on child pornography charges in 2001 while teaching fifth grade in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
At least one judge who reviewed the allegedly abusive images collected from Murnane’s electronic devices said they clearly “represent child pornography.” However, other judges dismissed the charges, arguing that the ages of the alleged victims could not be determined.Murnane was later sentenced to a short period of probation on the marijuana charge, which remained on his record. erased In October 2003.
The WHSD Board of Education was well aware of the serious accusations against Mr. Murnane when members voted to hire him last June. In a statement released on Facebook at the time, they implied that Murnane posed no threat because child pornography charges against him were “dismissed over 20 years ago.”
Shortly after TikTok’s Lib reported on Murnane’s background, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters denounced Murnane’s hiring decision, saying his office proposed changes to state Department of Education policy and that teachers It announced that it would propose including “regional standards” as part of eligibility and school districts. Certification process. He also hired Lajczyk to serve on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee.
The pressure from Walters and Lajczyk appears to have had the desired effect. Last Thursday, Western Heights Superintendent Brayden Savage confirmed Murnane submitted his resignation to John Glenn Elementary School. Technically, his resignation will not be officially announced until next week’s school board meeting, but Murnane’s district email address is currently inactive.
John Glenn Elementary School principal expelled from school after being cited for drug performancewww.youtube.com
Mr Savage called Mr Murnane’s resignation a “terrible and tragic situation” and suggested that his outraged parents may also be partly to blame. She claimed that Murnane and her school district were exposed to security threats after Murnane’s double life as a drag queen made national headlines. Savage said the threats forced Murnane to work off campus and placed him on paid leave shortly before his retirement.
“When people have doubts, [the situation] It doesn’t just impact the kids outside the building, it impacts everyone in the district in that way,” she said. [for this] It could have been used in other ways. ”
Meanwhile, Superintendent Walters celebrated the news regarding Murnane. “I have called on the school to take steps to terminate a drag queen who not only engaged in the most inappropriate and sexual encounters imaginable, but also used social media to recruit students,” he said in a statement. ” he said. “Exposing Murnane and forcing his resignation is a necessary step to protect Oklahoma’s children. Our students will be protected from predatory behavior, and I am confident that Oklahoma’s schools will be protected from drag queens. We have made it clear that we will not allow it to become a training ground for propaganda.”
Education Department spokesman Dan Isett also denounced Savage’s claims about additional security costs as “ridiculous” and possibly “slanderous.”
However, in reporting on his resignation, at least two local media outlets cast Mr Murnane as the victim. Oklahoman Mr Walters asked: “Do you feel responsible for the principal losing his job?” Here “Murnan has been under investigation by the state Department of Education for several months because he does drag,” he lamented.
A separate KOCO report said Murnane’s work as a drag queen “is not illegal in any way and does not affect her ability to obtain a teaching license in Oklahoma.”
Both media outlets attempted to contact Murnane for comment. Mr. Murnane said last fall. non-doctor He said he received “a lot of hate” for his drag queen persona. “I’ve been the same person doing the same thing for 26 years,” he claimed.
“I’m not quiet about it. I’m very open about who I am. I don’t hide who I am.”
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