TEACHERS TO KEEP JOBS DURING DRUG CASE

2 Elliott Countians charged in Fayette

A drug raid in Lexington last month is creating headaches for Kentucky's
longest-serving school superintendent.

Some parents in Elliott County are challenging a decision by superintendent
Eugene Binion to allow two married teachers -- one who is his niece by
marriage -- to continue working until the Fayette County charges have been
resolved.

Lori Bunk, 30, who was hired three years ago as a special education teacher
at Elliott County High School, and Jeremy Bunk, 28, hired this year at the
district's alternative school, were arrested on suspicion of trafficking
various controlled substances on April 12 near Picadome Elementary. The
cases have been waived to a Fayette County grand jury, which meets June 3,
assistant prosecutor Daniel Laren said.

At least six people showed up at a Elliott school board meeting last month
to protest Binion's decision, which he said will allow the Sandy Hook
couple to teach at least until the school year ends May 30.

Binion and the teachers' Lexington attorney say the defendants are entitled
to a presumption of innocence. Binion said he also wants to wait and see
how the couple is judged 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."

Nieces and nephews are exempt from anti-nepotism laws adopted for Kentucky
schools in 1990.

"The only decision I had to make was whether to keep them on until the end
of the (school) year," Binion said. "And I've made that decision."

Paula Lewis, a parent from Sandy Hook, disagreed with the decision.

In a letter to The Elliott County News this month, she said most parents,
teachers and employees of Elliott County High School were afraid to express
their opinions for fear of retaliation.

"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.

The Elliott school district, with 1,200 students and 202 employees, is the
county's largest employer.

Brenda Allen of Frankfort, an attorney for the standards board that 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 the Bunks were arrested at 1:15
a.m. April 12 after a raid on the Kentucky Inn on Waller Avenue.

Lori Bunk was charged with two counts of first-degree trafficking in a
controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms and Ecstasy pills), Henderson
said, 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 first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance
charge, court records show. A charge of drug trafficking within 1,000 yards
of a school was dismissed April 23 on a motion by the county attorney's
office, records show.

Binion said he also permitted another Elliott teacher arrested on drug
charges nearly three years ago to continue teaching. "The teacher was
cleared," Binion said. "It never went any place. The case was dropped."

State police arrested special education teacher Joy Ferguson, 46, of Sandy
Hook, in July 2000, on charges of trafficking in marijuana and possession
of drug paraphernalia, and that August for unlawful transaction with a
minor. Her record was cleared last month. The charges were diverted in
April 2001 on the condition that the offense not be repeated within a year.

Binion said Wednesday that Lori Bunk and her husband passed the district's
criminal background check before they were hired.

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, court records show. Yesterday, Binion said he
could not explain why Lori Bunk's prior charges did not surface in her
criminal background check.

Binion, who has been Elliott County superintendent for almost 28 years,
also is on the state standards board. Allen said Binion would not be
permitted to participate in the Bunks' case.

If the Bunks are convicted, they will not automatically lose their
teachers' certificates, Allen said. The panel is authorized to dismiss the
case, admonish the teachers, or conduct a hearing to perhaps take their
teaching certificates.

"I feel they're good teachers," said Elliott County High principal Larry
Salyer, but said that will have no bearing on the standards board's
investigation.

The Bunks could not be reached for comment. "I told them not to talk to
anybody," said their attorney, Brent Caldwell, of McBrayer, McGinnis,
Leslie and Kirkland law firm in Lexington.

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Herald-Leader staff writer Jenny Robertson contributed to this report.