District: Allegations of 'unprofessional relationship with student' led to Airport High assistant principal firing
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LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) - Lexington Two officials have released a statement after a Airport High School assistant principal was fired Monday night following a special board meeting.
Citing allegations of an "unprofessional relationship with a student," Lexington Two said they fired Assistant Principal Dawn Diimmler on Monday night following an investigation that turned up potential criminal activity.
District officials notified the Cayce Department of Public Safety on Jan. 30.
As has been reported, on the evening of February 12, 2018, the Lexington School District Two Board of Trustees voted to terminate the employment of a district assistant principal.
The assistant principal, Dawn Diimmler of Airport High School, had been employed with the district since 2012.
Ms. Diimmler was terminated following the district’s investigation into allegations that she might be involved in an unprofessional relationship with a student. During that investigation, the district became aware of facts indicating the possibility of criminal activity. In response, the district notified law enforcement that same day, January 30, 2018, of those facts and has continued to cooperate with law enforcement during its investigation.
As always, the safety and security of our students is the district’s paramount concern.
Diimmler was originally placed on administrative leave Monday alongside Principal Brad Coleman. But district officials met Monday night and decided to fire Diimmler instead and keep Coleman on leave.
Officials with the Cayce DPS confirmed Tuesday they were investigating the school and doing their "due diligence" in the matter.
In a statement, Cayce DPS said:
The Cayce Department of Public Safety is currently investigating an allegation of misconduct by an employee of Airport High School, located in Lexington School District Two.
The School District notified the Department of the alleged misconduct and requested that the Department look into the matter. This investigation is active and releasing further details at this time may jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.
A full report on the findings of the investigation will be forthcoming at its conclusion.
Dawn Kujawa, the district's spokeswoman did not elaborate further on the circumstances surrounding Diimmler's firing.
"Generally, the district can place an employee on administrative leave for any number of reasons," Kujawa said via email. "I also can tell you that, whenever a certified employee is placed on administrative leave, that leave generally is paid, as required by state law."
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