LEBANON — A Lebanon Middle School teacher who had been suspended while under investigation by school district officials has resigned, Superintendent Amy Allen told parents in an email this week.
Michael Binaghi resigned last week “for personal reasons,” Allen wrote in her Tuesday afternoon message to the district.
“Due to the change in employment status, the district’s investigation has been closed without findings,” Allen wrote.
Lebanon Police reviewed information provided by the school district, Chief Phil Roberts said in a written statement to the Valley News, but no further action is expected.
“Based on the information available at this time, investigators have not identified any information that a criminal offense occurred,” Roberts wrote. “As with any investigation, should additional information or evidence become available, it will be reviewed and evaluated, and any appropriate investigative action will be taken.”
In a written statement, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Education declined to say whether officials there are investigating Binaghi, because of “due process considerations.” But the department “is aware of the situation.”
School district officials placed Binaghi on leave in early May after several students went to middle school administrators with “allegations” about the conduct of a staff member, whom the district declined to name at that time.
Efforts to reach Binaghi were unsuccessful. He has been a physical education teacher at the middle school since 2015, and prior to that taught physical education at Williamstown (Vt.) Elementary School for 10 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In her letter to families, Allen did not outline the nature of the conduct that students brought to administrators’ attention.
“Depending on the nature and severity of the allegation, a determination is made regarding whether the employee may remain on the job during the investigation,” Allen wrote.
Allen could not be reached for follow-up questions.
District officials didn’t identify Binaghi in previous communications because of the ongoing investigation, Jack Rooney, the district’s director of communications and community relations, said in an email Wednesday.
“Once he resigned from the district, and the investigation concluded, we included his name in the message to families district-wide in the interest of transparency,” Rooney said.
“I recognize that this situation has been difficult and, at times, unsettling for many of our students, families, and staff members,” Allen wrote in her message. The districts “primary focus has been and continues to be on the safety, well-being, and support of our students. We appreciate the patience and understanding our school community has shown during this challenging time.”
The district is at work strengthening its student safety protocols, and plans to “implement additional training for all staff beyond our existing mandatory annual training,” and “enhance our curriculum and programming to further support student safety, personal boundaries, healthy relationships, and the development of safe and respectful school communities.”
