A Canadian high school principal who recently made global headlines after exposing herself as an Iron Maiden fan will keep her job, despite “concerned parents” calling for her removal.

Sharon Burns – principal of Eden High School in St. Catherines, Ontario – was recently criticised after sharing two images on social media, one of which showed her posing in-front of an Iron Maiden banner and license plate whilst throwing a ‘horns up’ gesture, and the other featuring a figure of the band’s mascot, Eddie, sitting alongside a handwritten note saying “Eddie 666” inside a love heart.

As previously reported, a group of parents started a Change.org petition to transfer Burns to another school, writing that they were “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.”

The petition – which has since been closed – garnered 553 signees. A counter-petition titled ‘We need Mrs. Burns’ is still active, and has amassed over 23,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Now, a representative of Burns has confirmed to the National Post that the principal will remain in her role. “As you can imagine, Principal Burns, like all of us, is quite surprised by how her Instagram post led to two petitions and grew to be a topic of interest around the world,” said Kim Sweeney, Chief Communications Officer for the District School Board of Niagara.

“We know Ms. Burns as a passionate and dedicated educator who is happiest when she can focus on and connect with her students.”

Sweeney confirmed the school board has spoken with both Burns and the disgruntled parents and “the issue is over as far as the board is concerned”, the National Post reports. Burns has removed both posts, however no further action was needed.

Last month, Funko launched Iron Maiden’s Eddie as a digital Pop! NFT, releasing over 40 versions of the famed mascot. This marked Funko’s inaugural venture into music NFTs.