A second marriage has cost a long-time Waterloo Catholic school teacher his job. Tom Girsch has been forced to resign from Columbus High School in Waterloo after failing to get his first marriage annulled. Last night, the Cedar Valley Catholic Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to accept Girsch’s resignation.
The action was a reversal of a vote taken last month, when board members narrowly rejected the letter. The board reconsidered the decision after the Archdiocese of Dubuque asked Girsch to step down. According to an attorney for the archdiocese, the popular teacher was let go because he remarried a year ago without getting his first marriage annulled, as required by church law.
The failed annulment was grounds for immediate dismissal, but the archdiocese compromised by allowing Girsch to continue teaching while he pursued an annulment. The annulment was eventually denied. Girsch, who has taught at Columbus for 32 years and coached the school’s football team for 28 years, plans to go to court to get his job back.