Mars School District residents must be wondering whether the stress associated with her arrest earlier this year is what precipitated the "undisclosed health reasons" causing high school principal Anna Saker to opt for a leave of absence.

District officials aren't saying, giving residents little choice but to speculate.

The leave, during which she will receive half pay, will be in effect for the first half of the upcoming school year, which begins next week.

Regardless of what health issue is behind Saker's decision and the school board's willingness to grant the time off, the decision apparently will spare the district of distractions tied to Saker's troubles with the law.

That's in the district's best interests.

Saker initially was charged with four counts of disorderly conduct and one count of obstructing justice in connection with an incident May 8 involving her husband and a Mars police officer. District Judge Wayne Seibel on June 4 dismissed two of the four counts of disorderly conduct, but she faces court proceedings on the other charges.

The fact that her leave from Mars High is for health reasons might have some district residents wondering how those health issues will impact the upcoming court proceedings for the charges she still faces. It must be hoped that the case is fully behind her by the time of her scheduled return in January.

During her years at Mars, Saker has demonstrated solid ability in the way she has overseen the operation of the school. It's unsettling that she allowed herself to get caught up in a situation that was inconsistent with the zero-tolerance policies she has maintained at the school.

The respect she has built in her years as principal was apparent in some of the letters to the editor received by the Butler Eagle in the aftermath of her arrest. Other letters noted the inconsistency between her actions and her school policies.

Clearly, something went wrong on the day she and her husband were stopped by police — and now Saker must answer for her actions.

What has occurred since May 8, and what lies ahead, obviously have had a profound effect on Saker and her role within the Mars school community. One change was apparent soon after her arrest; Saker, who usually attended school board meetings, has not attended a board session since being charged.

In the days after the incident involving Saker, which began when a car being driven by her husband was stopped by a Mars Borough police officer for traveling 40 mph in a 25 mph zone, William Pettigrew, school district superintendent, issued a statement saying that Saker's personal life was unrelated to her position at the high school. He said the district planned no action against Saker, and that decision apparently still stands.

With Saker's decision to opt for a leave, there might be those in the schools and community who are now second-guessing Pettigrew's statement regarding the incident's non-impact on the high school.

Whether or not Pettigrew's opinion has at all changed — he isn't saying — Saker's trouble with the law has had an undermining influence on her image at the school, whether or not anyone is willing to say so. That is true even though she still is innocent until proven guilty.

Even if Saker is ruled not guilty, or even if the charges against her are withdrawn, the effect of the case on Saker's ability to lead in the future like she did in the past has to be a concern.

Butler County Judge Tim McCune is scheduled to hear an argument by Saker's attorney, Al Lindsay, that all charges against his client should be dismissed because the arresting officer had no jurisdiction at the scene. The incident began in Mars Borough and ended at the Sakers' home in Adams Township.

Meanwhile, the county District Attorney's Office has filed notice that it wants a single trial covering all of the charges filed against the principal and her husband.

It is troubling that a person of Anna Saker's educational and administrative talent will be on the sideline for the first half of the year. Likewise, there must be concern about Saker's health.

But Saker is the person responsible for her legal troubles and now it is necessary for her to endure the embarrassment — and face whatever consequences might lie ahead.

There will be differing opinions in the district as the Saker case makes its way toward a conclusion, but this case illustrates that no one is above the law, regardless of his or her standing in the community.

Saker allegedly became belligerent when the arresting officer made it clear that her job and acquaintance with the borough's police chief had no bearing on his responsibility to uphold the law.

That is a lesson to be acknowledged in Mars and in the larger Butler County community as Mars strives to minimize the distraction of what's taking place in the courts.