The Saturday edition of the Pensacola News Journal covers how the Escambia County school board did not mention Superintendent Jim Paul’s DUI arrest. It also has a few other interesting points:
Jim Paul will meet with alcohol counselors next week. He doesn’t believe he has a drinking problem, but he will meet with experts. Several community leaders have reached out to Paul, including Quint Studer, who are recovering from alcoholism.
Paul admits he is not sure how many drinks he had and that he has been on anti-depressants since the death of his parents last year.
To critics of the school system’s zero tolerance policy, Paul says the district is simply following state law.
As long as Paul seeks counseling and follows through with his commitment to talk with the high school students, I will continue to say that Paul should not resign.
And though I’ve taken heat for it, it doesn’t really matter to me whether he had two or four drinks – he still registered a .128 which is a misdemeanor DUI. He needs counseling, meet with students, get the same treatment as other teachers who have similar offenses and do whatever the courts require.