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Irregular News for 11.02.06
Palo Alto, CA -- The Palo Alto Unified School District will wait until at least Thursday to take any action against a third-grade teacher cited for hosting a teen party with free-flowing alcohol over the weekend.
Police cited Lisa Swagerty, 50, and her husband Richard Stovel, 62, after dispersing a Disney-themed Halloween party at their home Saturday where dozens of teenagers had been drinking. Police said some of the partygoers were falling down and had thrown up. At least one girl passed out.
The couple were cited for contributing to the delinquency of minors, a misdemeanor, according to Palo Alto Police Agent Dan Ryan. Their daughter, a senior at Palo Alto High School, hosted the party, he said.
Scott Bowers, assistant superintendent at the school district, said officials still have not spoken to police and are proceeding deliberately in deciding whether to discipline the teacher. Bowers said the state education code and labor laws require there to be a ``nexis'' between an employee's personal conduct and her job.
Although Bowers did not mention Swagerty by name, he said she was at work Tuesday at Palo Verde Elementary. Neither Swagerty nor Stovel, an engineer at Stanford University, have returned Mercury News telephone calls.
Under the state education code, a school district can choose to suspend an employee who is cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Last year, Palo Alto school officials suspended a Gunn High School employee after she was suspected of permitting alcohol at a New Year's Eve Party attended by 120 students. One of those students was arrested on suspicion of drunken driven after leaving the party and crashing his car into a tree.
On Saturday, five or six police officers responded to a disturbance complaint at Swagerty's home in the 800 block of Fielding Drive in the Midtown area of Palo Alto. They found 50 to 75 teenagers and alcohol scattered throughout the house, Ryan said Monday.
``One girl was passed out on the floor upstairs, and in a couple of rooms, kids had vomited. The house was pretty much trashed,'' Ryan said.
Some of the partyers fled immediately, but officers lined up the rest and administered a Breathalyzer test to about 30 teens who said they wanted to drive home. ``We made sure every single kid who left was either stone cold sober or left with parents,'' Ryan said. He said it appeared the majority of partyers had been drinking.
Police did not cite any of the teens. ``We were focusing on getting them home in one piece,'' Ryan said.
Police believe the teens brought the alcohol to the party, Ryan said. He said the hostess's parents did not immediately appear when officers arrived. When the couple emerged, ``They were kind of surprised that we were surprised,'' Ryan said. ``They said, `What's the big deal? We'd rather have them party at home where it's safe.' That's what befuddled us.''
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Palo Alto, CA -- The Palo Alto Unified School District will wait until at least Thursday to take any action against a third-grade teacher cited for hosting a teen party with free-flowing alcohol over the weekend.
Police cited Lisa Swagerty, 50, and her husband Richard Stovel, 62, after dispersing a Disney-themed Halloween party at their home Saturday where dozens of teenagers had been drinking. Police said some of the partygoers were falling down and had thrown up. At least one girl passed out.
The couple were cited for contributing to the delinquency of minors, a misdemeanor, according to Palo Alto Police Agent Dan Ryan. Their daughter, a senior at Palo Alto High School, hosted the party, he said.
Scott Bowers, assistant superintendent at the school district, said officials still have not spoken to police and are proceeding deliberately in deciding whether to discipline the teacher. Bowers said the state education code and labor laws require there to be a ``nexis'' between an employee's personal conduct and her job.
Although Bowers did not mention Swagerty by name, he said she was at work Tuesday at Palo Verde Elementary. Neither Swagerty nor Stovel, an engineer at Stanford University, have returned Mercury News telephone calls.
Under the state education code, a school district can choose to suspend an employee who is cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Last year, Palo Alto school officials suspended a Gunn High School employee after she was suspected of permitting alcohol at a New Year's Eve Party attended by 120 students. One of those students was arrested on suspicion of drunken driven after leaving the party and crashing his car into a tree.
On Saturday, five or six police officers responded to a disturbance complaint at Swagerty's home in the 800 block of Fielding Drive in the Midtown area of Palo Alto. They found 50 to 75 teenagers and alcohol scattered throughout the house, Ryan said Monday.
``One girl was passed out on the floor upstairs, and in a couple of rooms, kids had vomited. The house was pretty much trashed,'' Ryan said.
Some of the partyers fled immediately, but officers lined up the rest and administered a Breathalyzer test to about 30 teens who said they wanted to drive home. ``We made sure every single kid who left was either stone cold sober or left with parents,'' Ryan said. He said it appeared the majority of partyers had been drinking.
Police did not cite any of the teens. ``We were focusing on getting them home in one piece,'' Ryan said.
Police believe the teens brought the alcohol to the party, Ryan said. He said the hostess's parents did not immediately appear when officers arrived. When the couple emerged, ``They were kind of surprised that we were surprised,'' Ryan said. ``They said, `What's the big deal? We'd rather have them party at home where it's safe.' That's what befuddled us.''
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