Wesley Guy spent years helping Central Catholic High School students with disabilities navigate their education plans.

He's also a graduate of the inner Southeast Portland school. In June, administrators told him his contract would not be renewed for the 2026-2027 school year.

Guy and colleague Anthony Gray, who both advised the school's Black Student Union, allege their positions were eliminated in retaliation for supporting students who organized protests after a baseball player used a racial slur before two varsity games in April, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"(Anthony Gray) and I were the main Black Student Union facilitators and the people working for social change," Guy told The Oregonian in an interview published Friday, Aug. 14. "Is it not ironic that we are both not welcome back this year?"

Guy has filed a whistleblower complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.

What happened in April

A Central Catholic baseball player used what students described as a racist chant including the N-word before games on April 16 and 17. Students said the slur was part of a hazing tradition in which a freshman was pressured to participate, and that coaches were present and did not intervene.

The school forfeited both games, canceled in-person classes April 20 and 21, and held a schoolwide assembly where team members apologized. But Black Student Union leaders wanted more.

On Friday, April 24, hundreds of students walked out, demanding suspension of coaching staff, mandatory anti-racism training and handbook revisions. Student Kaela Woodard told KPTV at the walkout that the chant was not a microaggression but a deliberate call to action using the hard-R slur.

The fallout for staff

Guy helped Black Student Union members draft a petition demanding the coaching staff undergo training, the baseball team forfeit its remaining season and the school overhaul its anti-racist policies. He says he received permission from the school's director of diversity and inclusion before posting the petition to Change.org.

He quickly removed it after administrators said commenters were revealing names of students involved in the incident. The school placed Guy on paid administrative leave for a week. He says administrators told him the leave was partly because a key donor might withdraw scholarship funding over the petition. School spokesperson Jared Ishkanian called that allegation false.

When Guy returned to campus, his ID card had been deactivated. He waited outside in the rain to be let in. He says he was assured at the time that the incident would not affect his future employment.

Two months later, both Guy and Gray learned their contracts were done. Guy, who oversaw individualized education plans for special education students, was told the school needed someone with a theological background. Gray, director of intramural sports and clubs who also ran the adaptive fitness training program, had been warned his hours might be cut but not that his job would be eliminated entirely.

Both men say their contract meetings were delayed until after a staff farewell celebration had already been held, excluding them from the event.

School's response

Ishkanian attributed the cuts to budget pressure. "Like many local organizations, Central Catholic recently eliminated a handful of positions due to budgetary constraints," he told The Oregonian. He declined to comment on individual employment matters.

Ishkanian said the school and its board are reviewing policies to strengthen support and protections for students, faculty and staff, but declined to detail any specific changes resulting from the spring events. Central Catholic has not shared what consequences, if any, the students involved in the racist incident received, citing privacy.

What's next

Guy's BOLI complaint invokes Oregon's whistleblower statute (ORS 659A.199), which bars employers from retaliating against workers who report what they believe in good faith to be a legal violation. No hearing date or investigation timeline has been made public.

Central Catholic is the only Portland high school under direct supervision of the Portland Archdiocese. The school enrolls roughly 865 students, about 37% of whom are students of color, and charges approximately $18,800 in annual tuition.

Gray told The Oregonian that since his contract was not renewed, multiple Central Catholic families have reached out expressing support and frustration with how the school handled the baseball situation.