New Mt. Prospect superintendent pleaded guilty to DUI in 2002
Last month wasn't the first time Mount Prospect Elementary District 57's incoming superintendent has faced drunken driving charges, according to records.
Almost seven years ago, Peggy Kaufmann pleaded guilty to DUI charges after she registered a 0.239 blood-alcohol concentration on a breathalyzer test the night of July 16, 2002 in Oak Brook, DuPage County records show. That would make her BAC level almost three times the state's legal limit of .08.
Kaufmann, of Geneva, is currently an assistant superintendent at Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54.
Her attorney, Chris Wheaton, declined to comment on the second DUI charge Monday evening.
Kaufmann is slated to begin her new job as District 57 superintendent in July, but the school board is expected to discuss her future at its meeting tonight.
District 57 has four new school board members elected April 7. Another veteran member, Rich Benson, resigned last week.
Board President Joseph Leane could not be reached for comment Monday. Another board member, Michael Berry, declined to comment, saying they were letting Leane speak for the board.
Bartlett police have confirmed they charged Kaufmann with DUI of alcohol
early morning on April 11.
They arrested her at 1:18 a.m. after she scored between a 0.147 and 0.155 on the breathalyzer, according to court records.
Police pulled over her 2008 black Nissan after her car swerved over the lane line three times while she drove south on Route 59 near Norwood Lane, court records state. She was also cited for illegal lane usage, and she appeared on May 6 in DuPage County court in Wheaton.
District 57, through automated phone calls, alerted parents of the April 11 charge last week after the school board addressed the matter with Kaufmann. Leane, interviewed about the April 11 charge on Saturday said Kaufmann told the board her attorney is confident she will be cleared of that latest charge.
As for the 2002 arrest, Kaufmann paid fines and fees and was sentenced to court supervision, DUI school and public service after pleading guilty to DUI on Aug. 16, 2002, court documents showed.
She also was sentenced to counseling, if deemed appropriate.
Kaufmann, who is still employed by District 54, has a distinguished career as an administrator and a former principal at Anne Fox Elementary School in Hanover Park.
She has a master's degree from Northeastern Illinois
University in reading education and a doctorate from Loyola University in Chicago.
In 2004, District 54 promoted her from principal to assistant superintendent of instruction.