A Woodbury high school principal's sudden decision to resign last week was accompanied by silence as to the details of a complaint made against him.

Aaron Harper, who had been principal at East Ridge High since it opened in 2009, quit after the South Washington County School District completed an investigation into the allegations. No disciplinary action was taken, nor was any payment made to Harper to obtain the resignation, district spokeswoman Barbara Brown said.

Because there had been no discipline in the case, Brown said that the district would not disclose the nature of the complaint against Harper.

But, in an e-mail Tuesday, Brown said that the district plans to seek a written advisory opinion from the state Department of Administration regarding what information, "including the allegations that were made against (Harper)," can be made public.

"The district will maintain and disclose data in accordance with the Department of Administration's advisory opinion," she said.

South Washington County's stance on the specifics of the Harper complaint is consistent with the position the district took in 2012 when John Soma, a former activities director at Woodbury High, resigned as athletic director at Edina High School.

Reporters learned then that two allegations had been made against Soma during his Woodbury tenure.

In one case, South Washington County disciplined Soma for failing to comply with proper accounting procedures. Brown, in turn, made available to the Star Tribune in 2012 a copy of the disciplinary letter sent to Soma in that case.

The second allegation also was investigated but did not result in discipline. As such, Brown said then, the nature of the claim was private under the state's data practices act.

Still, Brown said Tuesday, the district wants to be transparent in its actions, and now will seek the state's guidance in the Harper matter.