Former Bettendorf leader pleads guilty to OWI charge

Font Size:

By Sheena Dooley | Friday, August 15, 2008 3:01 PM CDT | () comments

Former Bettendorf schools Superintendent Marty Lucas pleaded guilty this morning to drunken driving after reaching an agreement with Benton (Iowa) County prosecutors. (TIMES FILE PHOTO) Buy this Photo

Related Media

Marty Lucas Plea Order

Bettendorf’s former superintendent, Marty Lucas, will spend seven days in jail and pay almost $2,000 after pleading guilty to drunken driving.

In addition, the plea agreement requires Lucas to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and, if necessary, seek treatment for alcohol use. He signed off on the agreement Thursday, four days before a jury trial regarding the charge was scheduled to start.

Lucas and Bob Gallagher Jr., his attorney, could not be reached for comment.

The charge stems from a February incident in which the Chevrolet Blazer Lucas was driving and the U-Haul it was pulling ended up in a ditch off an icy Interstate 380 in Benton County. The accident happened at about 5 p.m., and Lucas told deputies he drank one beer with his lunch at 2 p.m. His blood-alcohol content about an hour after the accident was 0.118. The legal limit is 0.08.

It was the second time in less than a decade that Lucas was arrested for drunken driving.

According to court documents, his sentence reflected his “prior record, the nature and circumstances of the offense … and the need to hold defendant accountable.”

Lucas resigned from his position with the Bettendorf School District last month after reaching a settlement agreement with the school board. The agreement called for him to step down in return for almost $50,000, which he will receive over the next five months. It also keeps him from pursuing litigation against the district.

After a four-month investigation into the incident, the board voted in June to place him on paid leave and move forward with terminating Lucas’ contract. Under Iowa law, board members could not fire him without giving him the opportunity to appeal the matter to an administrative law judge, which he was doing when the two sides reached the settlement.

Dan Smith, executive director of School Administrators of Iowa, said it was hard to say whether Lucas’ history will affect his ability to get hired in another school district. He said board members would most likely look at the circumstances surrounding the situation, including his job performance history and details surrounding the arrest and board members’ decision to terminate his contract.

“I would assume anyone who is interested would do a thorough check of the circumstances — not just the charges,” Smith said. “They would look at all of the factors surrounding the situation.”

Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com.