Report: Jacksonville art teacher was drunk, stumbling in hallway

An art teacher in Jacksonville has been suspended without pay after he was reportedly intoxicated on the job, investigation documents revealed Tuesday.

On Feb. 6, several teachers at Hyde Grove Early Learning Center reported that Dale Roberts, 56, had slurred speech and was stumbling in the school hallway.

One teacher said she noticed Roberts lost his balance and fell on a wall.

Another teacher spoke with Roberts to ask about the status of an art project and said she could smell alcohol on his breath. She also said he wobbled while he walked, documents from the Duval County Public School reported.

This teacher then went to the school's principal to inform what she noticed while speaking with Roberts.

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Documents show that the school's principal came into Roberts' classroom and said she could smell alcohol throughout the classroom. Roberts initially denied being under the influence when the principal asked him about it, the report said.

The principal asked again and Roberts said he had been drinking the night of the Super Bowl.

The principal told Roberts to meet her in her office to make arrangements for Roberts to take a alcohol and drug test.

But Roberts left the campus before he could be tested, the report said. Roberts didn't return to the school until Feb. 8.

According to his interview with an investigator on March 3, Roberts said he panicked and left the campus because of his positive alcohol test Jan. 13. Roberts said that leaving was a "poor decision."

Roberts told an investigator that had been taking several medications because of being under stress and dealing with personal issues.

"I just don't want to lose my job," he was reported saying in investigative documents.

Feb. 5, Roberts started drinking at about 6 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Due to a sore throat, Roberts said he drank whiskey with honey and lemons. He said he had about four ounces of alcohol during that time. Roberts said he wasn't  "overly intoxicated."

Roberts was suspended without pay for 30 days by the school board.

Cox Media Group