Jardine blew a .205
A 57 year old Poston Butte High School teacher caused quite a stir on Wednesday when she was arrested for being drunk in class.
On August 13th, 2014 at 2 p.m. the School Resource Deputy from Poston Butte High School in San Tan Valley was asked to assist the principal with a teacher who was possibly intoxicated. The deputy met with the principal and teacher who was identified as Kathleen Jardine.
The deputy learned a student in the math class Kathleen Jardine was teaching had called the main office to report she was intoxicated and yelling at students. When the deputy spoke with Jardine, he could tell she was extremely intoxicated. Initially, Jardine denied drinking any alcohol but later admitted she drank the night prior, that morning before school and during lunch in her classroom. Jardine blew a .205 breath alcohol concentration.
The deputy asked Jardine how she got to school today and she said, “I was afraid I was too intoxicated to drive so I took a cab this morning.”
A school security officer went to her classroom to get her purse and discovered a half full 750 ml bottle of Fleischmann’s Vodka, an empty single serving size bottle of Beringer white wine and a half full bottle of Sunny D. Jardine confirmed the alcohol belonged to her.
Jardine was cited for one count of Consumption of Alcohol in Public and was released to her daughter as this investigation continued.
The School Resource Deputy then interviewed six of the student witnesses from the class. They reported she was intoxicated, was yelling at students and cursing. Jardine is also now facing possible charges of Disorderly Conduct.
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Learning math can be hard enough, I can’t imagine trying to learn it from a drunk teacher. This is not the first time teacher Kathleen Jardine has been intoxicated in the classroom. During September of 2011 she was a math teacher at Belen High School in New Mexico. Students reported to their administration she was ‘acting strange and slurring her words.’ It was determined she was intoxicated and she was later fired from the school. The Florence Unified School District has a close working relationship with our office to ensure the safety and security of their students. School officials immediately took action and notified our school resource deputy as soon as they discovered Jardine was intoxicated.”
Dr. Richard Franco said, “Our team moved so quickly. It is unfortunate situation. We don’t have a lot of wiggle room to comment. It is a criminal matter and as a result we are prevented from interfering with the investigation.” Franco said that the District employees were “amazing” and handled the situation as quickly as possible. “Our enrollment is up, good things are happening in the District and this is just unfortunate because it will be what people talk about and not the great things our staff and kids are doing.” Dr. Franco asked that people remember, that “as troubling as this situation is, it was the act of an individual and does not reflect the standards of the Florence Unified School District or the amazing people who work tirelessly for the kids who attend our schools.”