Parkview coach reinstated after arrest
The Parkview girls basketball coach has been reinstated after ending the season with a suspension following a drunken-driving arrest, the superintendent said.
The district suspended high school physical education teacher Chad Smith from his coaching duties Feb. 18 for the remainder of the season as a result of his conduct for driving under the influence, Superintendent Steve Lutzke wrote in an email.
Contracts for coaches for next year have not yet been issued for any coaches, he wrote.
Smith, 26, of Janesville, was arrested on a charge of third-offense drunken driving at about bar time Feb. 3. Janesville police reported he drove left of the centerline and failed to slow while passing an emergency vehicle. He also was cited for those two violations.
The arrest did not affect his teaching status, Lutzke said. Smith is in his first year of teaching in the district.
"Because Mr. Smith's duties as a coach involve enforcement of the school district's student athlete code, which includes rules about alcohol use, the district determined that his conduct was directly related to those duties," Lutzke wrote. "Because the classroom teacher is not directly responsible for enforcing the athletic code, the suspension was not applied to his teaching position."
Smith was convicted of drunken driving in 2005 and 2009, according to the criminal complaint.
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