Stamford Advocate- A Greenwich High School lacrosse coach who was sentenced to six months in prison on drunken driving charges last week has resigned as a school employee.
Paul Burke, of New Canaan, has tendered his resignation as both a coach and a social studies teacher at GHS, effective June 30, according to the schools superintendent. Under the terms of his resignation, Burke will remain on the school system's payroll for the remainder of this school year, while he is incarcerated.
Burke has "paid a significant price for his actions, losing both his job and his freedom," Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund said in a statement on Friday. "We hope and trust that Mr. Burke has learned from this difficult situation, and we wish him the best as he moves on with his life."
Burke's attorney, Brendan O'Rourke, said his client had a "stellar record" as a teacher and a coach who had a positive impact on the lives of his students and athletes.
The resignation "is a very unfortunate result for Paul Burke as well as the town, because he was a very valued fellow," O'Rourke said. He also called alcoholism "a disease" that Burke has been treating.
Burke legally could have challenged a potential termination by the district, but chose to resign for reasons that O'Rourke would not disclose, citing attorney-client privilege.
His voluntary resignation allows the district to post his teaching and coaching jobs immediately, Freund said.
"It was in the district's best interest to close this chapter and move on," he said.
In November 2009, Burke was found guilty of illegally operating a motor vehicle while under the intoxicating effects of liquor and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration elevated above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Burke also served 30 days in jail in 1999 after he was convicted of driving with a suspended license stemming from a prior DUI.
An investigation prior to his sentencing last month revealed that Burke had a third DUI conviction years ago that was wiped from his record because of a state law that clears the slate every 10 years.
During his recent trial, he was sentenced as a second-time offender because of this law.
Freund said he did not believe school officials were aware of the prior conviction when they hired Burke. "Not until we read it in the newspaper," said Freund, who took office as superintendent in July 2009.
Burke's August 2008 arrest came after an early-morning June crash in which Burke slammed his 2005 BMW into a stone wall on Middlesex Road in Darien.
Police said Burke had bloodshot, glassy eyes and had trouble keeping his balance. According to the arrest warrant, Burke had a blood-alcohol content of 0.29 percent -- more than triple the legal limit -- and was coming from Greenwich at the time of the crash. The lacrosse coach was arrested two months after the accident and charged with the offenses.
News of Burke's arrest became more widely known in March after the school district suspended the coach and history teacher just before the lacrosse season began.
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