Peters elementary teacher accused of public drunkenness in class
Woman allegedly left students to visit liquor store
A Peters Township elementary schoolteacher is accused of leaving her first-grade students while going to the liquor store one day last week and later becoming so intoxicated she had to be helped out of her classroom bathroom.
Katharine Viviano, 50, of Venetia, was cited by Peters Township police with summary public drunkenness in connection with the incident last Thursday where she allegedly admitted to drinking vodka and being drunk in class.
Police said surveillance video from Pleasant Valley Elementary School showed Viviano driving from the building at 250 E. McMurray Road shortly before 11 a.m. without notifying staff or school administrators that she was leaving. Three minutes later, surveillance video at the Wine & Spirits Store in Donaldson’s Crossroads less than a mile away on Route 19 showed her entering and purchasing alcohol, according to the citation. She returned to the school grounds – allegedly backing into another car while parking – after having been away from her students for about 14 minutes, according to the timeline provided by investigators.
Later in the afternoon, Viviano was “visibly intoxicated, in her class, in front of her 1st grade students” and eventually found by another teacher as she was locked inside her classroom bathroom, police wrote in the citation. Viviano refused to come out or answer to the teacher, police said, prompting school administrators to move her students into another classroom.
The school’s principal, nurse and police officer eventually were called to the room, but Viviano refused their requests for her to leave, offering only one word answers, police said. When she did come out, police said she smelled like alcohol, was unable to walk and had to be helped to her desk chair in the classroom.
She admitted to drinking vodka earlier in the day, according to the citation, but was “unable or unwilling” to submit to a portable breathalyzer to measure her blood-alcohol level.
Peters Township School District spokeswoman Shelly Belcher said the parents of Viviano’s students were notified of the situation.
“We understand that this information is concerning to families, but please know that the safety and well-being of our students remains our highest priority,” Belcher said in a written statement.
She did not say what Viviano’s status is with the district or whether she has been placed on leave.
“Because this situation involves both a personnel matter and an ongoing police investigation, we are unable to share additional details,” Belcher said. “Our focus remains on supporting the students impacted by this incident and ensuring a safe, stable, and positive learning environment for the remainder of the school year.”
It was not known who was watching the students while Viviano allegedly went to the liquor store, or if she could be facing additional summary offenses or potential criminal charges. The summons for the non-traffic citation was filed Tuesday at District Judge Phillippe Melograne’s office, and no date has been set for Viviano’s summary trial.