A high school principal in Missouri has resigned after she was accused of impersonating a student on Facebook in order to spy on students and their parents, according to a news report.

Louise Losos, the principal of Clayton High School in St. Louis, is suspected of having created a fake Facebook account under the alias Suzy Harriston and “friending” hundreds of students, presumably in order to monitor their communications through their Facebook postings.

The account, whose profile picture depicted a group of penguins, was set up last year. More than 300 students accepted the “friend” request from “Harriston,” many of them Clayton High School students, before a student who received one of the requests posted a note warning others to stay away from the account because he believed the principal was behind it, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

On Apr. 5, former Clayton High student and quarterback named Chase Haslett wrote on a Facebook group page, “Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal.”

Shortly after he published his note, the “Harriston” account disappeared. The following day, the high school announced that Losos was taking a leave of absence. She handed in her resignation last Friday.

The school has not confirmed that Losos was behind the account or that this was the specific reason for her resignation. In a statement, school officials acknowledged only that Losos had resigned over a “fundamental dispute over the appropriate use of social media.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch conducted a search of public records to determine if Suzy Harriston was a real person, but came up with nothing. Clayton School District also acknowledged that no student by the name of Suzy Harriston had been enrolled at the high school in the last two years.

The outing of Losos might have been retaliation for the recent firing of a football coach.

Haslett posted his accusation on the page of a Facebook account that had been set up in support of the coach, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The account, called “Bring Back Coach Horrell,” was frequented by students, parents and others who felt that former football coach Sam Horrell had been unfairly fired last year.

Horrell lost his coaching position over a violation of the Missouri State High School Activities Association bylaws, which regulate what kind of contact high school coaches can have with middle school athletes. The school district found that Horrell had “engaged in strength and conditioning workouts with … students who attend Wydown Middle School,” in violation of the bylaws.

Students held a demonstration on the front lawn of the school last year in support of the coach, and some denounced Losos for Horrell’s punishment. Horrell was allowed to remain at the high school as a physical education teacher this year, but the school board voted on Apr. 4 to not renew his teaching contract.

A day after the school board announced its decision, Haslett posted his accusation about Losos and the “Suzy Harriston” Facebook account. He posted his warning after the “Harriston” account sent out a number of friend requests to people who were expressing support for Horrell online. Someone asked Haslett online how he knew Losos was behind the “Harriston” account and Haslett, who is the son of former St. Louis Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett, replied, “Can’t say who told me.”

Andy Brown, the parent of a Clayton High School student, was among those who received a sudden Facebook friend request from “Harriston.” He had been a public supporter of Horrell and a critic of Losos, the newspaper said. Two of his children had already been “friended” by Harrison last year. Brown told the local paper that if Losos or other administrators were indeed using Facebook to monitor students online without being truthful about their identity, it was a breach of trust.

Losos has been principal of the school since 2005. During her tenure, the high school was ranked among the best high schools in the United States by Newsweek.

“Our high ranking is a tribute to the hard work of our students and the dedication of our entire staff,” Losos said in a press release about the school’s ranking. “I am proud of our Greyhound community for this significant achievement. We will continue our work of holding high expectations and striving to provide the best possible education to our students.”

Schools around the country have been developing policies that forbid teachers from “friending” students on social media through personal accounts, in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Recently, a New York City teacher wrote “this is sexy” beneath the Facebook photo of a female student. Another teacher reportedly sent a message to a student saying that her boyfriend did not “deserve a beautiful girl like you.”