Sister Mary Tracy, the president of Eastside Catholic School, submitted her letter of resignation to the Eastside Catholic School board of directors Monday, Jan. 20. The board released the news Tuesday with a statement that it had accepted her resignation, which was effective immediately.

Principal Polly Skinner and interim vice-principal Tom Lord will lead the school until a new president can be found.

Communications manager for Eastside Catholic, Karen Hatch, said the board is forming a search committee. She said its focus will be to find a candidate who meets the school’s three touchstones: academic excellence, relationships and servant leadership.

Tracy’s resignation is just one of many developments since former vice principal Mark Zmuda was terminated Dec. 19 after it was revealed that he had married his gay partner last summer, which is against Catholic tenets.

Since then, students, alumni, parents and supporters from around the world have rallied around Zmuda, calling for change in the Catholic church, and for Zmuda to be reinstated.

Alumni Corey Sinser, who started the Keepmrz2013 campaign, said he thinks a combination of pressure from parents, students and alumni may have been a factor in Tracy’s resignation.

“This past week the board has listened and have done their homework,” he said. “The Zmuda situation has shed light onto a lot of issues at the school.”

He said parents, alumni and educators have had issues with communication and transparency during Tracy’s tenure.

“We haven’t had a voice there for the past year,” he said.

When asked if the school would consider a secular leader, Hatch said she didn’t know. Sinser believes the new leader will be of the Catholic faith, but not necessarily a member of the clergy.

As far as he knew, the board would conduct a nationwide search.

“They will hit the reset button and start over,” Sinser said.

He said Zmuda does want his job back, and would come back.

Stephanie Merrow, the theater director for Eastside Catholic, who is marrying her partner next summer, said Eastside Catholic needs a new leader who can lead in a positive direction.

“She made a lot of missteps along the way,” Merrow said of Tracy. “In my fantasy, Polly Skinner would be the new president and Mark would be a great principal.”

Sinser said Z-Day is still planned for Jan. 31, with details to be released soon. Students, alumni and supporters will wear orange and an event in Seattle is being planned. He said a foundation is being formed called “Stand With Mr. Z.”

“He (Zmuda) wants to stand up for discrimination, harassment of the LBGTQ community, bullying – any kind of discrimination,” Sinser said.

Sinser said even if Zmuda is rehired, it would be a waste not to carry on the momentum generated from this movement.