Teacher pleads no contest to DUI charge

A second-grade teacher in Bristol pleaded no contest Friday to a drunken driving charge.

Kathleen Borgia appeared in Providence District Court for what was to be a probation violation hearing.

Brogia pleaded no contest to driving under the influence; the state dropped a charge of refusing a chemical test.

She was fined $100 and her license was suspended for six months.  A judge also ordered her to attend substance abuse counseling.

Police and prosecutors said Borgia was driving erratically and smelled of alcohol on Sept. 28 while on her way to Colt Andrews School in Bristol.  Her lawyer, Michael Egan, said his client had been taking prescription drugs and had been dealing with psychological and personal problems at the time.

“Obviously, Miss Borgia has some serious issues she has to deal with, some of them mental health-related, some of them physical. She has some serious medications she’s on right now, and she needs to address that and get her life together,“ Egan said.

The Bristol Phoenix reported last month that Borgia was suspended with pay.

Court records indicate Borgia has a history of alcohol-related problems.

The Bristol-Warren School Committee voted in 2008 to fire Borgia for a series of alcohol and domestic abuse incidents. She was reinstated on appeal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.