A Catholic school principal claims the Diocese of Brooklyn paid her significantly less than her male successor because she’s a woman.

Phyllis Reggio claims she took a significant pay cut to join St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Academy in Woodhaven in 2017, from $120,000 at her previous job to just $75,000 a year without benefits. 

The school told her that’s all they could afford, Reggio says in a Dec. 11 Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit against the school and Diocese. 

A month before Reggio’s August retirement, she claims in court papers a budget for the upcoming year revealed the man hired to take over her post was going to be paid $90,000 a year.

Reggio, who has 30 years experience and two masters degrees, had similar credentials to the incoming principal, she charges.

The educator is seeking unspecified damages in her discrimination case, which claims the Diocese broke laws governing equal pay. The school referred questions to the Diocese, where a spokesman claimed the male employee’s higher salary was “appropriate for his individual qualifications, which are different than Ms. Reggio’s.”