Wow really you would have lost your job for doing something like this off hours for said employment..........Where do you work Jack tells us so we can avoid working there since it seems the will fire you for doing thing off hours.
And my above comments are no way advocating Drinking and Driving.

He is not a kid. At 31 is an adult.

How many role models do you see when you get together with neighbors and drink beer and wine in the circle of friends and your children around.

I agree. He did what most adults did this past weekend at Prairie Fest....Right?
Come on people he is a good person.

The hitter box was not his? Dont know what it even is. But you can damn well bet there isn't one under my seat. Drug paraphernalia charges dropped ?. School teacher ? School assistant Principal ? Administrator ? He better be in one damn good counseling class. Having a beer is not against the law. Drug paraphernalia ? Great roll model for Oswego schools. Maybe we need to pay our Administrative staff more money. Don't like the flak your getting, quit. And get a fultime job.

@Mark Chandler....I guarantee you I was NOT drinking and driving after Prairie Fest and there is NO drug paraphanalia hidden in my car, nor has there ever been.

Generalizing drunk driving and using drugs (dude never said the pot pipe, etc wasn't his...just his friends who are sticking up for him) as what "most adults" do is ridiculous. Also...I have NEVER driven after even one drink. I don't think I am the only one, either.

Guy could be the nicest person in the world but I don't want someone with such incredibly poor judgment around my kids.

Laura they don't want to hear this all the rope and noose carriers want is to hand the man. Three of the women on here wanting him to be fired always get together and drink and of course they have their children with them. Finger pointing is for 3 year olds.

Administrators are at-will employees. They are not protected by any union.

RB it is only when someone from the school district does this.....then most of the commenters go off the deep end. Hahahahah

Administrators are not part of a union! They do work full time, or they are paid for the number of months they work. Should he be fired? I think the drug pipe needs to be investigated, and maybe he should be fired. However, he deserves the chance to work that out with the district where he works. I am a teacher and I enjoy a beer every now and then, but because of my profession I make sure I don't drink and drive. And it is the law, and educators are held to a higher standard.

THANK YOU!! Have we sunk so low in this society that we have shifted the responsibility of being your childs role model to an assistant principal?

Administrators are at-will employees. They are not part of or protected by any union. The union-bashers here really must understand who the unions represent and who they don't which, in the case of public employees and most other private industries, are people who are not in management.

Please..............If it not for the union's this country would look like Mexico right now.
I do not and will not drink the FOX - TEA................

LOL - another anti-union rant by someone who can't follow union vs non-union employees. Save the indigination about union workers for a case that actually involves one.

I hope the guy learned a lesson and can move on grateful that no one was injured/killed.

If the children are the victims of Mr. Francis's D.U.I., then my kids don't have a chance in hell to amount to anything with me as their parent because Lord knows I make mistakes all the time and I'm their most important role model.

Cindy, every persons salary is paid by someone else. That does not give you the right to tell him how to live his life. This has nothing to do with "the kids" It is a non issue.

Walt, I don't see anyone defending drunk driving. People are defending the person, not his actions. You say his judgement was impaired. How do you know this? Where you there when he was arrested? He was over the legal limit for DUI but how many people feel they are good to drive after they have been drinking? How many people actually know what there B.A.C. is after they have been drinking. Are you going to say you never broke the rules of the road. You never drove one mile over the speed limit?

According to the law he was driving under the influence, was he not?
Yes he was. I am not disputing that. The police officer did his job and so did the courts.

"Having one drink can impair ones ability to think straight, correct?"
I disagree with you.

The guy made a mistake and is paying for it now. Like I said earlier, this could serve as teaching experience for the community.

And by the way my tax dollars pay for his salary as well. It is nice to know you never made a mistake in your life.

The rule of thumb for those of you who don't know (and from discussing this with others how representation works seems to be a complete mystery for most) is that once you enter salaried management, and often just management, you must leave the union. The union represents the workers in contrast to management, It is a conflict of interest to represent both and that line is very clearly drawn. You lose any and all protections the union may have had to offer in trade for being able to negotiate your own salary and to lead others. This the same in the public sector as it is in the private sector.

In other words, it doesn't matter if he was once in the union or not. The day he entered administration, as far as the union was concerned, he became "the other side." There are many, many good potential managers out there who will never enter management for that very reason (in addition to losing benefits and pension.)

Logansdad you're way out of line. I have never once said I have never made any mistakes in my life so don't be putting words in my mouth. I have made my fair share and have paid the punishment for them.
What I do have a problem with is drinking and driving in any shape or form. I never once brought up the drug paraphernalia that just "happened" to be under his seat. He's lucky to be in 308 as most districts would have him pack his bags! No zero tolerance must have a new meaning, or it doesn't apply to our employees, sorry kids it's just rules for you. There have been plenty of kids who have done a few stupid things on the weekend and have been side lined for games and meets. These events happened outside of school and school property, but the rules still applied.

Matthew thanks for clarifying that for me.

It's really a shame that adult venues with adult content and adult opinions can't be commented on in an adult manner. Adults have opinions and different views, what's acceptable to you is not always accepted by the next.

I am out of line Walt???? Is that because I responded in favor of the teacher as much as you did against? If you look back at my original response to you I asked if you obeyed every rule of the road and you choose to ignore the question.
Furthermore if you didnt like me making assumptions based on your posts that's to bad. I wasnt the one acting holier than thou. You were the one that said you were a 308 taxpayer. I get news for you everyone else posting to this article is probably a taxpayer in 308 as well.

And this was going so well. Walt, Logansdad, please take it down a notch, both of you. Thanks.

Hey Richard, what I'm finding is this community seems to have a hidden secret and that secret is, if you don't live up to their expectations you are no good. Some people really need to get a life and many of those complaining should pipe down and take a look at inside their very own homes! All of those secrets are going to come out more and more and then lets see how they feel when a blog is about them.

Students drinking on school grounds is a valid argument for the zero tolerance rule. If they are caught drinking on the weekend, however, it does not affect their school enrollment status since it didn't happen on school grounds. Same with teachers. It's his personal time, and he is a normal person just like everyone else who made a similar mistake a lot of people make. Does not make him less of an administrator or a role model, it just makes him human. A great lesson to teach the students!

I think you are missing my point Loreta. Of course there should be forgiveness for mistakes. Just like a sin is a sin, a mistake is a mistake and the same amount of mercy shall be given to all kinds of mistakes. Wedging policy into this does make what Mr. Francis did anymore moral. I guess being a likeable person has it's perks.

JPauly,
I respect your position. I agree that you can't just throw policy into it and make it ok. I just don't think that people's idea of how he should be punished by being removed from the school really fits this particular incident. But your comment did mention policy as well, so I just tried to compare about the zero tolerance and say that it's not the same thing. The behaviors of students having alcohol at school and a teacher drinking on the weekend are very different. He should be punished for the driving part, and is being punished, and appropriately I think. that's just me. I mean no disrespect and I do appreciate all of these points of views.

Cool Loreta. I think this is why I love our school district so much, because people care more about what matters than what will draw the most attention. Here's to a successful future for the kids at 308...

Loreta- Students drinking off school grounds on the weekends in personal homes are punished by the school system. Removed/suspended from sports, clubs, activities. Suspended from school. It does seem like a far reach for the kids but not for the staff.

There was an incident with a few members of the football team damaging mailboxes and these players were banned from a number of games and some an entire season. This incident happened off school grounds and not on school time but they paid the price on both ends of the spectrum. It seems we have a double standard and that doesn't set a good example for anyone.
As long as your children attend school they will hear about this incident with Mr. Francis. How many of the children in the class that your child attends will have older siblings who have made this front page. I know first hand as I'm trying to deal with this at my home.
I still don't agree with this behavior and never will. I do have some compassion as there are family members who have also paid the price for a lapse in judgment, no fault of theirs. He will forever live with this incident as it will follow him and his resume for the rest of his life. That will be a heavy cross to carry.

You should do your very best to raise your children to be great productive citizens because it's up to you how to start them off in life, but to act as if your children have to know about this situation further lets me and everyone else on this blog know that you sit around talking about adult situations in front of your children.

Thank you!

And the next time you as role models in Hunt Club school district want hold an open conversation, try not to do it with children around. You should try not to not make up you childrens mind about this man. It's an adult conversation. Now why don't you train yourself to be better role models!

Legal consumption of alcohol starts at age 21. Apples to oranges.

Don't the athletes sign a contract on what is acceptable behavior? I am sure the teachers sign a contract as well but it all depends on what is written in the teacher's contract.

Sounds to me if students are drinking, parents are not doing their job! Train your children and if your child is or has been pulled over for drinking and driving SHAME ON YOU!

The traffic stop occurred in March. Second paragraph.

Really dolores are you serious. Get it together and 14 years later you are still holding on to that mess. Get a life and just make sure that those parties your kid is attending are not like the ones you attend with the lite tastings of the wonderful wine and spirits. Train your kid to be better and stop it with the nonsense. Talk about holding a grudge! Geezzzzzzz

I would assume that most people will not be discussing it with their kids. Why would they? My children don't attend that school, but I'd be hard pressed to find it necessary to discuss it with them even if they did. They are too young, don't read the paper, etc. There just wouldn't be a reason.

In a perfect world, no one would make these types of mistakes, that's true. But I'm actually far more bothered by parents strolling my neighborhood on Halloween with a beer in hand, or boozing it up in the front yard while they "watch" the kids play. That situation would likely require more of an explanation from me than some random assistant principal's DUI. My kids don't even know who their assistant principal is. LOL - probably an altogether different problem. ; )

The whole situation is just sad. I did not have to tell my Old Post students about the situation they came home the day after it happened & told ME! They both like Mr. Francis. They are not old enough to fully understand this yet it became a family discussion. Not sure how I really feel about the whole situation but I do know that my older kids who participate in sports in the district are crying "double standard"! So I guess the point is no matter who you are young or old, it is a hard situation to understand.

WELL SOME IDIOT FOUND IT A GOOD IDEA TO TELL THE STUDENTS......WAIT MAYBE IT WAS THE SWEET PARENTS STANDING OUTSIDE WITH A TEACHER ASSISTANT TALKING ABOUT IT LIKE THEY WERE AT HUNT CLUB. Just crazy!

"Possession of drug paraphernalia" is the official charge. "Hitter box" is the term the police used to describe the actual drug paraphernalia.

My guess is "yes". Short of a bus driver who transports children, or perhaps another position that requires the use of district-owned vehicles, my guess it that an employee would not be termed for DUI. In most places of employment not just a school district, most likely.

The sad truth is parents used to have high standards and morals for their children. How many children in Oswego are arrested for underage drinking and drug use/possession? How many children are arrested for battery? Not to long ago some high school kids were arrested for pulling a fire alarm - a felony. What kind of values and morals are the parents tecahing theses kids? Some people are more worried about what happens to the teachers when they are off the clock than they are about the children.

That 6 hours is the best 6 hours of your kid's day Mr.dude. How does one DUI reflect on the entire district? Take the time to meet a few dist 308 teachers and you will be impressed. We are the best!

We are human and we all..... make mistakes. The good humans learn from those mistakes and the bad ones don't.....He is an assistant principle and had a couple of beers on his day off. He blew a .09 one point over the legal .08 he's not the former president of the united states of America that started a war that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people for NO TRUE REASON. He never excepted responsibility and he didn't step down either. How does one explain that to their children... "Perspective"

Chris - BRILLIANT and I 100% agree with you!

@gater - excellent point. Employees at my company are randomly drug tested even after beginning their employment. We don't work around or influence children but are held to a very high standard of conduct. Why would I expect less from Oswego 308 employees?

Driving drunk is stupid, dangerous and illegal although, yes, drinking is not. But In the case of drugs...illegal no matter the circumstances. Francis should have been let go.

I have lived out in Oswego for 10 years. This is the 1st instance of DUI by a teacher/educator. I feel this situation is being blown out of proportion. It is not like it is a regular occurrence. Why is it that people are more concerned about what happens outside of school than what their kids are being taught in school. Where is the high regard and wanting high standards when it comes to what kids are being taught in school.

If everyone feels that teachers should be put on a pedestal when it comes to their moral conduct, then it is up to the community to voice their concerns to the school board and get it in the teacher's contracts. If it is not there now, they can't be punished for it.

I do also have children at Old Post. They are fond of him. Since they are younger and well behaved, I admit I do not have much contact with the administration other than family days and events. I do not have a higher standard for him than I would with anyone in my children's lives. If a fellow parent received a DUI "on their own time", we would not be leaving them at their house for a playdate. Our tax money pays for this individual to exercise good judgement, which he did not. We chose an to live in an area with higher taxes and better schools for a reason. I am disappointed that the moral standards are not on par with the academic ones. Anyone that has a child, especially in upper elementary, should have the expectation that their child may come in contact with a newpaper, internet article, or a friend who knows. Unfortunately, we can not shield our children from everything and have to be ready to explain that all behavior has consequences. Even my small children and I had a very simple "drugs are bad and you never drink and drive when you grow up" talk just in case they heard gossip at school. The young adult that was killed on Saturday morning is exactly why DUIs can not be acceptable. By saying he deserves his job, we are condoning this behavior and not seeing it as dangerous.

People seem to not to want this guy around. I just thought of something that came up the last time there was a transportation issue. I don't recall the issue at the time but I remember several parents being very afraid that their 1st grader would be on a bus with JHS and HS students. thinking about this I'm wondering what the concern is, all of the students have perfect role models at school....

Shut up john!

stop complaining
I'm sorry I'd didn't know you have been living in my pocket for the last 49 years,and you know more about me then I do. I'll do my next load at the laundary mat,the machines are better so maybe you,ll be wased out to live in someone eles pocket for a change sounds like you need one cause aferter all finger pointing is for 3 year olds.