Fatima Lawson, principal of L'Etoile du Nord French Immersion School in St. Paul, announced in a letter to community members Tuesday that she was stepping down as school leader next year.

The move comes as L'Etoile du Nord plans to make the transition to a dual campus in 2013-14 and after Lawson became the subject of a complaint filed with the district alleging that she and her supporters were abusive to critics and she allowed bullying to go unaddressed at the school.

In her letter, Lawson made no reference to the complaint, which points to a community divided over her leadership.

"This is bittersweet for me," Lawson wrote Tuesday. "Inasmuch as I look forward to a new challenge, I will be sad to leave LNFI. However, I know that this is the right decision for me personally, and for the school community as a whole."

A copy of the complaint provided by a parent to the Star Tribune contains a cover letter signed by two other parents and purports to include contributions from 75 parents, students and staff members.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Valeria Silva said that the release of the document was disappointing and that Lawson "shouldn't be judged" on its contents until the district completes its investigation, for which she gave no timeline. She described Lawson's decision to step down as a separate matter. Lawson, she said, had led the school through growth and success in her 10 years there, and "that's a long run."

As for the apparent split within the community, Silva said that no school leader can expect 100 percent support.

Lawson said that in a school with heavy parental involvement there are bound to be decisions that may displease some people, but that she is prepared to help the district take the school to a new level and wants the investigation to run its course.

In her letter, she described her tenure as a "dream come true" and referred to the school's growth from about 140 students initially to more than 650 students today.

In 2013-14, she said, the district will seek a new principal who will work side-by-side with her and the school's new assistant principal through the end of the year, at which time she then will move on to her "next adventure."

Lawson was hired in August 1996 and has no record of discipline in her file, the district said.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-925-5036