MO: Accused Drunk Teacher Has Checkered Past

Special Note: DESE normally takes action against a teacher's certificate after three drunk driving convictions, according to Rosenkoetter.

Reported by: Aaron Keller
Last Update: 8:05 am

Metro Teacher Accused of Being Drunk At Work

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The Independence school district is taking steps
to fire an elementary school teacher accused of driving drunk during the
middle of a school day.

Kathy Moegle, 55, of Kansas City, faces charges in Independence
Municipal Court for leaving Blackburn Elementary School with a blood alcohol
level of .173, more than twice the legal limit in Missouri. Police reports
indicate Moegle was also driving without a valid license.

The district issued a statement of charges against Moegle's contract
on Friday, Nov. 14, a district spokeswoman reported Tuesday. Moegle has 10
days to request a hearing before the Independence Board of Education,
according to a statement by the district. The actual statement of charges
against Moegle is not a public record under Missouri law.

But NBC Action News has uncovered court records indicating Moegle has
had several brushes with the law.

In 1991, the state revoked Moegle's license, according to court
documents in Jackson and Clay Counties.

In 2005, officers accused Moegle of refusing a breathalyzer test.
Moegle sued to have her license reinstated and won, claiming she did not
"knowingly refuse" the chemical breath examination. She also argued that the
officer who charged her with the offense did not have "reasonable grounds"
to believe she was under the influence.

In 2007, officers again accused Moegle of refusing a breathalyzer.
And, for a second time, the state stripped Moegle's driving privileges.
Moegle sued to have her license reinstated but a judge tossed her case out
of court.

The 2007 license revocation was still valid when Independence police
stopped Moegle as she left school last Monday, according to an Independence
police officer's report.

Parents at Blackburn Elementary had no idea about the teacher's past.

"It's a really good school and a really good principal, so I'm
surprised they didn't know," said one mother.

But checking a teacher's license against criminal convictions lists is
not a local district's direct responsibility.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education normally
checks teaching certificates against drunk driving convictions, and then
tells local school districts when a teacher gets in trouble.

But DESE's criminal conviction checks are roughly a year and a half
behind schedule, according to Rusty Rosenkoetter, a certification specialist
with the state. DESE had no idea Moegle's license had been suspended by the
state department of revenue in 2007.

Some state lawmakers are wondering why not.

"That is government's responsibility, to protect the child through
reasonable background checks," said State Senator Luann Ridgeway,
R-Smithville.

When checks fail, or aren't done in a timely manner, Ridgeway believes
teachers should be required to report their own convictions, similar to
licensing provisions already in place for other Missouri professionals.

"In these few instances, we have a duty to protect children; and above
and beyond that, we have a duty to set a good example," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Independence School District told NBC Action
News that Moegle's background check was "clean" when the district hired her
five years ago.

DESE normally takes action against a teacher's certificate after three
drunk driving convictions, according to Rosenkoetter.