IONIA — Two days after an internal investigation cleared the principal of Ionia High School of misconduct allegations related to his surveillance and supervision of students in the high school parking lot, the principal has resigned.

Principal Jonathan Duley tendered his resignation Thursday evening effective immediately. A school inquest cleared him earlier this week, but a request for a personal protection order (PPO) from a student’s parents is pending in Ionia County Court.

“Mr. Duley resigned for personal reasons and the district is not commenting further on the resignations,” said Ionia Public Schools Superintendent Ben Gurk.

In a resignation letter to high school families, Duley thanked them for “an amazing 14 years” with Ionia Public Schools. He said that over the past four months he had “considered what the next steps in life would look like for me”.

“I have found my work-life balance to be very out of balance, and I know that maintaining balance is a very important part of overall health,” Duley wrote. “Things have become much more difficult lately. Although heartbroken, today was my last day as Principal of Ionia High School. I resign, effective immediately.

In a memo released Tuesday, Gurk said the school district’s administrative team launched an internal investigation into Duley after allegations of misconduct were reported to the school administration. A social media post on a non-school community page also alleged the misconduct, Gurk said. The school’s investigation included a review of district security surveillance footage and interviews with students, staff and Duley.

“District protocol during an internal investigation is to thoroughly review all available evidence before making a final decision,” Gurk wrote in Tuesday’s memo. “The district recently completed its investigation and the final determination was that there was no evidence of a violation of board policy related to the Principal of Ionia High School’s conduct or communication with IPS students. , or his surveillance of the school parking lot.”

A student’s male parent wrote in an April 26 PPO application filed with the Ionia County Clerk’s Office that “the Principal of Ionia High School followed my daughter to her vehicle at unbeknownst to her, and after the associate superintendent told him to avoid her, he went out of his way to watch and approach her when the associate superintendent was away from the district.

The parent cited harassment as the reason for the PPO’s request.

In an April 26 email to Ionia County Circuit Court Judge Suzanne Kreeger, the same student’s mother went into extensive detail regarding the allegations and concerns about Duley, including an allegation that Duley was stalking and harassing the student, as well as an allegation that Duley improperly used an Instagram account titled “Maple the Therapy Dog” to follow student accounts.

On April 27, the judge dismissed OPP’s request “ex parte”, noting that the court was not satisfied that a delay in granting the OPP would cause “immediate injury, loss or damage and irreparable”.

On April 29, the male relative requested a hearing in the case, which is currently set for 3 p.m. Monday in Circuit Court.

The Ionia School Board approved a contract with Duley as a secondary school principal on July 26, 2021. Duley worked for seven years as a secondary school teacher and six years as a primary and secondary school principal .

Gurk said Mitch Mercer, retired principal of Emerson Elementary School and former acting superintendent, will take over Duley’s position for the remainder of the school year, and then the district will begin searching for the high school’s next principal.