Shawnee Heights superintendent suspended after drunk driving arrest

A Topeka area school district superintendent has been suspended after a drunken driving arrest.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the school board for the Shawnee Heights district announced Thursday that Martin Stessman was placed on administrative leave until June 1st. The board ordered him to forfeit 20 days’ pay, with those funds going toward an alcohol awareness program.

Upon returning from leave, he will spend the next year on probation, during which time he must complete an alcohol assessment. Board president Eric Deitcher says Stressman also must speak to students to “make this a teaching moment.”

Stessman was booked Saturday night into the Jefferson County Jail and released on $1,000 bond. The board said in a statement that Stessman’s conduct “during both school and non-school periods directly reflects the district.”

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