Pubdate: Mon, 19 May 2003 Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY) Copyright: 2003 The Courier-Journal Contact: http://www.courier-journal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97 Author: Associated Press 2 ELLIOTT TEACHERS FACING DRUG COUNTS ARE STILL ON THE JOB LEXINGTON, Ky. - Parents in Elliott County are angry that school Superintendent Eugene Binion is allowing two teachers to continue working while they face drug charges. Lori Bunk, 30, and Jeremy Bunk, 28, who are married, were arrested April12 near an elementary school in Fayette County on suspicion of trafficking in controlled substances. Lori Bunk - who is Binion's niece by marriage - was hired three years ago as a special-education teacher at Elliott County High School. Jeremy Bunk was hired this year at the district's alternative school. The Bunks' drug cases will be considered by a Fayette County grand jury, which meets June3, prosecutor Daniel Laren said. So far, Binion has allowed them to continue working, and that has some parents in an uproar. At least six people showed up at a county school board meeting last month to protest Binion's decision. Binion and the teachers' Lexington attorney say the defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence. Binion said he also wants to await a decision by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board before he recommends any disciplinary action. "I'm handling it the same way I would any other case," Binion said. "The fact that one of these persons is my wife's niece is not a factor. I did everything I was supposed to do. We'll see what develops." Binion said he permitted another teacher arrested on drug charges nearly three years ago to continue teaching. "The teacher was cleared," Binion said. "It never went anyplace. The case was dropped." Paula Lewis, a parent, wrote a letter to The Elliott County News this month to express her disapproval of Binion's decision involving the Bunks. "We feel the accused teachers should be out of the classrooms, at least temporarily, and even with pay if necessary until this problem is resolved," Lewis wrote. Brenda Allen, an attorney for the standards board - which would decide whether the Bunks keep their teaching certificates - said Binion's decision is not unusual. "I actually find a number of superintendents leave people on the payroll in these circumstances because the charges can be dismissed down the road," she said. Lexington police Lt. William Henderson said Lori Bunk faces two counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms and Ecstasy pills), trafficking in marijuana within 1,000 yards of Picadome Elementary School, possession of methamphetamine and possession of GHB, a so-called date-rape drug. Jeremy Bunk faces a charge of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, court records show. A charge of drug trafficking within 1,000 yards of a school was dismissed April23 on a motion by the county attorney's office, records show. Binion said Lori Bunk and her husband passed the district's criminal background check before they were hired. But court records show Lori Bunk pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery charges in Carter Circuit Court in 1992 in exchange for dismissal of pending felony charges in Elliott and Morgan counties. Binion told the Lexington Herald-Leader he could not explain why Lori Bunk's prior charges did not surface in the background check. Binion has been Elliott County superintendent for almost 28 years, the longest tenure for a superintendent in Kentucky. He also is on the state standards board, although he would not be allowed to participate in the Bunks' case. If the Bunks are convicted, they will not automatically lose their teaching certificates, Allen said. The panel is authorized to dismiss the case, admonish the teachers or conduct a hearing to consider decertifying them. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake