PIPER ? The high school principal at the center of a plagiarism controversy says he will leave at the end of the school year for personal and professional reasons.

Mike Adams is in his first year at Piper High School and had two years left on his contract. He would not say whether the school’s plagiarism controversy led to his decision.

Adams supported biology teacher Christine Pelton’s decision to fail 28 students she accused of plagiarism.

The school board is thought to have secretly agreed Dec. 11 to order Pelton to change those students’ grades. Superintendent Michael Rooney gave Pelton the order the next day. Pelton immediately resigned.

After months of not commenting publicly on the matter, Adams on Thursday addressed speculation circulating in the district about his departure.

He said he was not asked to leave. “And I have not resigned because they were going to fire me,” he said, referring to the school board and the superintendent.

He also denied rumors that he is resigning because he could find no evidence of plagiarism when he checked the students’ projects.

A spokeswoman for the Piper Teachers Assn. said Adams would be missed.

“He is an excellent administrator,” Leona Sigwing said. “He is very supportive of teachers and of what’s best for the kids.”

Some teachers were considering resigning, Sigwing said earlier this week. What the board does next, she said, will affect their decision.

High school business teacher Angel Carney already has announced plans to leave at the end of the school year. She has cited both the plagiarism incident and personal reasons.

Adams said he could not say much about the plagiarism issue because the Wyandotte County district attorney is investigating the board.

Before coming to Piper, Adams was principal of Lakin High School and an administrator at Garden City High School.