Lafayette bus driver charged with DWI goes to pretrial nearly three years

Posted: Aug 9, 2012 5:39 PM by Tonya LaCoste
Updated: Aug 9, 2012 6:21 PM

Kenny Mire, the Lafayette Parish school bus driver arrested and charged with DWI in 2009, is set for pretrial on October 17. In court, Mire will either enter a plea or go to trial. If he chooses a trial, it'll be held two days later on October 19. Mire received a DWI in Sept. 2009, and for nearly three years he's been on paid leave earning $19,150 a year. He's accused of driving drunk in his own vehicle and then getting behind the wheel of his school bus and picking up students on his regular route after bonding out of jail. Since the charge, the school board has allowed him to work as a part-time vehicle maintenance attendant.

Mire's case was unusual, and that's why he's been allowed to stay on the payroll for nearly three years, according to LPSS spokesperson Angela Morrison. When Mire was charged with DWI, there was no school board policy or state law to guide the school board. "As a tenured bus driver, Mr. Mire also has certain rights we must respect," said Morrison. Since the DWI charge, LPSS has developed a policy which became state law. It allows bus drivers to be fired if charged with DWI.