Sharon Burns, principal of Eden High School in St. Catherines, Ontario, has been allowed to keep her job after coming under fire from some of her students’ parents for being an Iron Maiden fan.
The controversy began earlier this month when Burns posted a pair of photos on Instagram, including one of her throwing horns while standing in front of an Iron Maiden banner and license plate, and one of an Eddie the Head doll on her dashboard along with a sign that says “Eddie 666.”
The photos — which Burns later deleted from her account — lead to the creation of a petition entitled Eden High School Principal, Sharon Burns, Needs To Be Transferred Immediately!. The petition, which ultimately garnered upwards of 500 signatures before being shut down, read in part:
“As concerned parents… we are deeply disturbed that the principal assigned to the school blatantly showed Satanic symbols and her allegiance to Satanic practices on her public social media platforms where all the students can see them under.
“As parents we are demanding her transfer to another school. Please replace her with another principal who aligns with the values of the families at Eden and will not sabotage the teaching or upholding of those values and will not try to introduce impressionable students to Satanic practices or symbolism.”
Thankfully, a counter petition, We Need Mrs. Burns, was launched in response, eventually collecting 20,000+ signatures.
The counter petition has now won out and Burns allowed to keep her job. According to the National Post, Kim Sweeney, chief communications officer for the District School Board of Niagara, the [school] board spoke with Burns and the parents who published the complaints “and the issue is over as far as the board is concerned… No disciplinary action or policy changes were needed.”
“I’m surprised it blew up in the way it did,” said St. Catharines city councillor Karrie Porter of the international attention the story received. “It is funny, silly and frustrating all at the same time.”
The report adds that the fracas may be rooted in Eden’s enduring Christian roots in the community it serves. It began as a Bible school founded by the Mennonite Brethren in the 1930s, then became a private Christian school, and in 1988 converted to a public school but retained the wearing of school uniforms and still hosts privately funded afterschool Christian activities.
You can view Burns’s original “offending” Instagram posts below, although they have since been removed from her account.
