School silent on teacher's drink driving charge

A West Auckland school will not say whether a teacher charged with driving with a breath alcohol level at nearly four times the legal limit will keep her job.

Bruce McLaren Intermediate School principal David Crickmer declined to comment today on whether Joanna Winifred Wright would remain on staff while her case was before the court.

"This matter is in the hands of the police, and the board of trustees cannot compromise the process by commenting on employment matters," he said in a statement.

Wright, 47, appeared briefly in Auckland District Court today and was remanded on bail for a defended hearing on June 20.

Her appearance lasted less than two minutes and she made no comment from the dock.

She earlier denied driving with 1583 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath -- one of the highest recorded breath tests in New Zealand.

The legal limit is 400mcg per litre of breath.

Wright's lawyer, Peter Boylan, said before the hearing there were questions about the reliability of the breath test, hinting that he might challenge the prosecution on technical grounds.

Wright, dressed in a white blouse, knee-length black skirt and boots appeared relaxed. She was accompanied in court by a young woman thought to be her daughter.

Judge Robert Kerr said TVNZ and TV3 had applied to bring TV cameras into court to cover Wright's trial and he would hear legal argument on the applications before June 20.

- NZPA