A New Jersey school district is facing legal action from three separate lawsuits filed this year following the firing of its open-gay school.

In a lawsuit filed in May, John Berenato, the former superintendent of the Manchester Township School District, accused the district of sexual orientation discrimination that led to his firing last November.

He said he experienced “open hostility and bias” and claimed the district caved in to “local political pressure” that tried to prevent “those with different sexual orientations” from working in district administration.

According to court documents, board members expressed their religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality and discussed fears that Berenato was “pushing the gay agenda.”

The complaint alleges that Diane Pedroza, the current superintendent, expressed that she did not want the district’s curriculum to become “too gay.”

In a second lawsuit filed in September, The district’s former director of special services, Bridget Antonucci, alleged that she was “subjected to a hostile work environment and was ultimately fired.”

Antonucci, who identifies as straight, said she was labeled “a member of the rainbow community” because of her support for Berenato, the complaint states.

According to court documents, Antonucci was with Berenato when he received “disgusting texts regarding sexual acts” from the district board members.

The alleged discriminatory behavior left Antonucci “shocked to wonder how it was possible for elected officials to behave so despicably,” according to the complaint.

A third lawsuit was filed against the district on Oct. 28 by Lori Burns, the district’s former director of early childhood education.

Burns, an out lesbian, has been the district’s only LGBTQ administrator since February, according to court documents. She resigned in May.

Burns’ complaint alleges that her sexual orientation was a “motivating factor” for the “harsh, hostile and exclusionary treatment” and that the school board’s concerns about Berenato were also held up for Burns.

One incident cited in the lawsuit was an October 2023 board meeting to discuss the transgender student policy. Burns and Berenato were both present and, according to court documents, during the meeting “derogatory and homophobic” comments were made, and transgender people were characterized as “dangerous” and “predatory.”

Berenato’s lawsuit also alleged that there was “open animosity toward the policies in place to protect LGBTQ students in the district.”

A district spokesman said it “cannot provide any comment or information regarding pending litigation.”

The Manchester Township School District serves approximately 2,900 students from kindergarten through high school in Ocean County.