The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Marian High School have responded to remarks by Senator Ryan Mishler in a Facebook post he created regarding voucher schools. Mishler’s post is embeded below. The post is followed by the Diocese response:

Mishawaka, IN – On February 9, 2023, Senator Ryan Mishler published a Facebook post titled An Open Letter to District 9 on Voucher Schools. In his post, Senator Mishler made multiple disparaging comments about the administration and certain staff of a voucher recipient eligible private school in his district who he claimed had mistreated students and were unresponsive to efforts of parents to intervene on behalf of their children who attended the school. In that post, he also makes a veiled reference to racial disparity in the school’s dealing with its students. He admits within the post that some of the information he presents is not based on his personal knowledge.

The Senator did not identify the school he targeted in his post. Subsequently, it became known publicly that Marian High School, located in Mishawaka, was the subject of his ire. Since Marian’s reputation has been impugned in this public manner, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, of which Marian High School is a part, now considers it appropriate and necessary to respond. Marian High School and the diocese takes issue with Senator Mishler’s perspective on the matters referenced in his post. Marian’s handling of the matter and this response is based on facts, not surmise or political relevance.

Senator Mishler’s post is his opinion, but he leaves out information and makes comments on issues when he does not know the full details. He was not privy to confidential interviews with parents, details of investigations, and actions taken because he was not present, and the information is confidential. There are a number of substantial half-truths and omissions in his post.

Mark Kirzeder, the Principal of Marian, epitomizes both the educational and religious elements necessary for a Catholic school to be successful in fulfilling its mission. Contrary to the information provided in Senator Mishler’s post, during Mr. Kirzeder’s time as Principal at Marian, no student has ever been suspended for simply engaging in a consensual kiss. Mr. Kirzeder has never knowingly refused a parent’s request for a meeting about a school-related concern the parent had about the parent’s child. Mr. Kirzeder does not simply ignore or fail to look into any student-related concern that a parent brings to his attention or to take appropriate remedial action as appropriate.

Specific to events included in Senator Mishler’s post, in September of 2022, he first approached Marian regarding a concern involving a Marian staff member, purportedly doing so on behalf of parents of other students, not his. He was advised of the diocese’s standard practice to address issues at the lowest possible level and then move forward. He was advised that standard practice and policy, as well as pertinent law, did not allow Marian’s administration to speak with a parent, such as him, about matters involving another parent’s child or to disclose confidential personnel information regarding its staff, such as disciplinary actions. We are responsible for working with parents to educate their children and strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect. That is a responsibility our diocesan schools do not take lightly.

Subsequently, in a manner consistent with its policy and standard practice, members of Marian’s administration made themselves available and met with every parent that requested the opportunity to present concerns regarding the staff member at issue. They listened, investigated, and took what they considered appropriate remedial actions. Because it is a personnel issue, by policy Marian cannot disclose the specific actions taken as a result of the information provided by their parents.

The concerns presented by parents to Marian in the September-October 2022 time frame were addressed and resolved promptly. Since then, not one parent, including Senator Mishler, has again approached Marian’s administration regarding any concerns about that staff member. Diocesan officials fail to understand why this is now being raised as an issue in Senator Mishler’s Facebook post.

In his post, Senator Mishler claims to be a proponent of transparency. That is a laudable trait. Marian also endorses transparency, especially with parents when it comes to matters involving their children who are students. However, Marian’s ability to be transparent in the public forum concerning matters involving its students and staff is limited by not only the law but even more so by policy based upon the respect it has for privacy owed to each of them. That limits Marian’s ability to be more specific concerning matters included in Senator Mishler’s post.

For those unaware, Marian High School is a faith-based Catholic school where students excel spiritually, intellectually, academically, and socially. The school is highly rated for preparing students for college and had a 100% graduation rate for 2021-22. The school’s enrollment has increased yearly over the last seven years, with current enrollment at 700. The school has a 37% percent minority population. Sixty-eight percent of the students earned an academic honors diploma for SY 21-22. Marian has 37 dual credit courses offered. For SY 21-22, its students earned 4,403 college credits, and several earned associate degrees.

Another Indiana State Senator has advised the diocese that the information contained in Senator Mishler’s post establishes a scandal that labels Catholics. That is a sad assessment, and, hopefully, one simply the result of a lack of factual information. Officials with the diocese and Marian High School pray that those willing to approach the claims made by Senator Mishler with open eyes will come to appreciate that there is a different side to the story, one that is reflective of the reasons why Marian’s student population has grown, and its students have prospered both educationally and spiritually.