Austintown educator placed on leave after OVI charge

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

An Austintown Middle School faculty member charged with OVI and child endangering has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to the district.

Township police arrested Amanda L. Laird, 36, of Baker Street, on March 27 and charged her with driving while intoxicated – with a blood alcohol level of .23, nearly three times the legal limit of .08 – and while her children, age 2 and 4, were at home.

Laird was set for a meeting Thursday morning with district Superintendent Vince Colaluca, during which she was represented by the teachers union, district officials said.

“While the incident did not occur on school grounds ... components of the Ohio Revised Code suggest her actions could be grounds for disqualification,” the district said in a Thursday news release.

Laird pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of endangering children and operating a vehicle while intoxicated and other related traffic offenses and was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.She’s due back in court next month.

Laird will continue to collect pay from the district while on leave. According to a district spokesperson, Laird currently makes $39,367 a year as an intervention specialist at the middle school, working with sixth- through eighth-graders with extra behavioral or disability needs.

Colaluca couldn’t be reached Thursday to comment. Laird joined the district in 2013.