MICHIGAN CITY | The principal at Michigan City High School resigned due to allegations of inappropriate cellphone conversations with a former student.
The Michigan City Area Schools Board accepted the resignation from Lee Dabagia Jr on Tuesday night.
One of the board members, Beryle Burgwald, voted against it expressing a desire to terminate Dabagia.
School Board Vice President Jim Kintzele Sr. said firing Dabagia potentially would have been costly because he was on paid suspension and could have appealed while still collecting pay.
A termination also could have resulted in a lawsuit, Kintzele said, who revealed criminal charges against Dabagia are not being pursued by prosecutors.
"To the best of my knowledge they said there is no violation of law," Kintzele said.
Dabagia had been on paid leave since mid-October due to allegations of inappropriate contact with a former student by cellphone.
In a letter to the board, Dabagia said he decided to step down for the well being of both his family and school district.
Dabagia had been the principal for about a year.
He was previously associate principal and curriculum coach at the high school and prior to that held positions like teacher at Krueger Middle School.
Michigan City Police Chief Mark Swistek would not say whether any decision to prosecute the case had been made.
He also would not divulge more specifics about the case, which he described as "still open and ongoing."
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