Archbishop Murphy’s former president hired at church

The ousted high school president lands at St. Thomas More in Lynnwood, whose parishioners also give the family a home

By Eric Stevick

For the Enterprise

The recently fired president from Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School has landed on his feet with a temporary job working with St. Thomas More Church in Lynnwood.

Members of the parish have also collected money and donated the use of a house for three months to allow Deacon Patrick Moynihan and his family to remain in the community.

Moynihan was fired after just more than three months on the job, shortly after the school year started in September.

The Catholic school’s board of trustees cited “significant differences with Mr. Moynihan (over) management and leadership” in reaching its decision to terminate his contract.

The Rev. Bob Camuso of St. Thomas More said Moynihan has been hired by the church for the next three months. He will serve as the parish’s director of stewardship, evangelization and outreach.

As a layman with the title of deacon, Moynihan has been volunteering at the parish in a variety of capacities, from working with teenagers to performing weddings and baptisms. He also assists at Mass and preaches.

“He is doing a lot of different things for which I am very grateful,” Camuso said.

“I look forward to serving at St. Thomas More,” Moynihan said. “I hope to prove the laborer deserves his keep.”

Moynihan and his family were preparing to move out of state at the end of October before the parish offered the help. Three of his children attend St. Thomas More, which serves students from preschool through the eighth grade.

His oldest child is a freshman at Archbishop Murphy.

“I can’t say enough good things about how well the faculty, staff and student body have treated him,” Moynihan said.

Moynihan has retained a Seattle lawyer and hopes to reach a settlement with the school.

“Although we are confident that mediation over my contract will result in a just and equitable settlement, the immediate assistance of the parish made it possible for us to stay and not have to move back closer to family for support,” Moynihan said.

On Oct. 30, more than a dozen parishioners, friends and members of a local chapter of the Knights of Columbus helped move the family into a new home.

“Some of the people here are very supportive and they don’t want him to leave,” Camuso said.

Parishioner Laurie Vilbrandt said people just want to help the family even if they don’t know all the details of why Archbishop Murphy’s board of directors let Moynihan go. “It’s where politics are put out of the equation,” she said.

The school year was just a few days old when the decision was made to put Moynihan on administrative leave.

Moynihan, 42, started in the post on July 1 after a national search. He said he had a three-year contract with the school.

He was hired as the school’s first president last spring while longtime principal Kristine Brynildsen-Smith remained in charge of academics.

Moynihan came from the Diocese of Rockford, Ill., and earlier served as president of a Catholic secondary boarding school for poor students in Haiti. He once taught Latin and English at a Catholic high school in Connecticut.

The Archbishop Murphy school board has hired Thomas Lord as their interim president for the remainder of the year. Lord has an extensive background in both public and Catholic school administration over 40 years.

Eric Stevick writes for the Herald of Everett.