Bettendorf: School board to discuss Lucas situation
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By Sheena Dooley | Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
School board members in Bettendorf will meet today behind closed doors about what action, if any, they will take against the district’s leader, who is charged with drunken driving.
Marty Lucas, Bettendorf School District superintendent, was arrested last month after the 2008 Chevrolet Blazer he was driving and U-Haul it was pulling ended up in a ditch off Interstate 380 in Benton County, according to a police report. It is the second time in less than a decade that he has been charged with operating while intoxicated.
The board will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the district’s administration center,
800 23rd St., and members expect to receive an update on an internal investigation Cameron Davidson, the district’s attorney, is conducting.
Barry Anderson, board president, said he would not speculate as to whether the board might reach a decision during the meeting.
“We will determine if there are further issues that need to be reviewed before we make a decision,” Anderson said.
The board first discussed the incident when it met in executive session two weeks ago for almost three hours. During the meeting, Davidson gave a report on the initial findings from his investigation, which included information about the arrest and district policies that pertain to such incidents. Lucas was called into the meeting several times to answer questions.
Board members are still waiting for the charges against Lucas to be resolved. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting further court hearings. In the meantime, a judge has ordered him to undergo an alcohol and drug abuse evaluation.
Lucas referred all questions to his lawyer, Bob Gallagher, who did not return phone calls Tuesday.
According to Bettendorf’s administrative code of ethics, “the professional school administrator … obeys local, state and national laws; holds to high ethical and moral standards; and gives loyalty to this country and the cause of democracy and liberty.” Failure to comply with the ethics code “shall be grounds for discipline and, possibly, dismissal,” it says.
A police report said the accident happened about
5 p.m. Feb. 28 when Lucas was southbound on the interstate. After a sheriff’s deputy noticed an odor of alcohol, Lucas admitted to drinking one beer with his lunch about 2 p.m.
At 6:16 p.m., an hour after the crash, Lucas failed preliminary drunken-driving tests. A breath test registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.118. The legal limit is 0.08.
Lucas faced similar charges in 1999, when he was the superintendent in Charles City, Iowa.
Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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