A teacher at a private religious school in Seminole County told Eyewitness News that, despite an exemplary record over the years, he ended up losing his job after the school learned he was gay.
Steven Arauz has long been an advocate of adoption in Central Florida. Recently, he did an interview for a website called Gays with Kids.
He worked for eight years as a history teacher at Forrest Lake Educational Center in Longwood, but after the article he was let go.
In an email sent to Arauz from superintendent Frank Runnels, he was told that “this conduct, if true, does not comport with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s standards and the education program at FLEC.”
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The school provided Channel 9 with this statement:
“When a teacher accepts a teaching position at a Florida Conference school, they understand and agree that teaching in the Seventh-day Adventist system constitutes a ministry. Each teacher therefore agrees to teach, support and live in accordance with the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as they take on a position of ministry for our schoolchildren. Mr. Arauz breached this agreement through conduct and advocacy of positions in opposition to Seventh-day Adventist teachings. He thereby compromised his ability to minister to his students. For this reason his contract was not renewed.”
Cox Media Group
