Next time, stick with the french fries.
That was the lesson learned by a French teacher who was sacked from her job at a Manhattan private school for allowing students to drink wine on a school-sponsored trip to France.
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge upheld the June 2010 termination of teacher Daniele Benatouil in a decision filed this week.
Judge Sholmo Hagler noted that while Banatouil obtained written permission from parents for their children to enjoy wine with dinner in France, she did not have the blessing of her supervisors.
“In this case, the school has established a clear and unambiguous zero tolerance policy prohibiting a student’s use of alcohol or drugs during school hours and at school sponsored activities,” Judge Halger wrote in the decision, emphasizing that Benatouil should have been aware of the rule.
Benatouil taught French at the Calhoun School on the Upper West Side for 12 years before she was fired. She was sacked from her $80,000 a year gig for a spring 2010 trip to France with six students after an associate director of the school saw a video from the sojourn showing the students enjoying wine with dinner.
“It was very difficult to witness the children having alcohol, given the expectations our school,” said Laverne McDonald, a school administrator, in court documents.
The Calhoun School did not immediately return calls seeking comment.