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Investigation Launched After Teacher Tells Class He's Gay by 365Gay.com from the Web, March 24, 2004 Camarillo, CA -- As a teacher Ron Fanelle believes in being straightforward, so when a student stood up in his seventh grade class and asked Fanelle if it was true that he had gotten married in San Francisco on Valentines Day, Fanelle said yes, but it didn't end there. Monte Vista Middle School student then asked if he married a man. Yes said Fanelle. It was the first time his sexuality had ever come up in class, and he says he was pleasantly surprised when the class stood up and applauded. But not all parents were applauding. The parents of one student pulled their child out of Fanelle's class and another parent showed up at a school board meeting to accuse the middle school teacher of promoting a pro-gay agenda. The Pleasant Valley School District school board meeting was carried live on a local community access channel in the community, about 50 miles Northwest of Los Angeles. "I come to you tonight with a heavy heart," said parent David Maddux, who doesn't have a child in Fanelle's class. "A seventh-grade history teacher announced to his students he's gay. I'm very upset and disappointed that this person was bringing his homosexual platform to the classroom." But, Fanelle said he did not initiate the discussion in his classroom and he's filed a complaint with the school district accusing two other teachers of spreading the word among students that he is gay. Now, there's an official board inquiry. Fanelle married his partner of 15 years, Randy Serak. His colleagues, including principal Sara Davis, knew he was gay and had gotten married and they congratulated him at a staff meeting. A teacher then told her students about the marriage and word spread quickly through the school, Fanelle said "The kids walked in and there was a buzz about it," Fanelle said. "They said, 'We heard you got married on Valentine's Day. Is it true?' I said, 'Yes.' They asked, 'Was it a man?' I said, 'Yes.' Then they gave me a standing ovation." The students then asked about his partner. "I said, 'His name is Randy. It was a beautiful wedding. Any other questions?'" Fanelle said. A male student began muttering negative comments under his breath, Fanelle said, so he read aloud the school district's sexual harassment code in a student handbook. He also used the opportunity to talk about suffrage, bigotry and the Magna Carta. Because he was hoping to avoid any controversy about his personal life, Fanelle said he has filed the formal complaints with the school district against the teacher who talked about his sexuality with her students and the one who stood by while her students gossiped about it. "(Fanelle) got married and came back and somehow the kids found out about it," said School board president Sandra Berg. "We're trying to teach appropriate behavior toward people's personal lives. We're trying to set parameters and find out what the appropriate procedures would be for kids." Superintendent of schools Tom Dase said: "Our intent is to make sure we have all the facts and we preserve everyone's rights. We're not investigating an individual, and we're certainly not investigating Mr. Fanelle because he's homosexual."
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