Magdalena school board member Herman Ganadonegro, 45, pleaded guilty to a single count of public intoxication last week after he allegedly showed up drunk at a basketball game on Feb. 21, El Defensor Chieftain reported over the weekend.

Deputy Marshal Terry Flanigan said Ganadonegro passed out on the floor at the basketball game and was so intoxicated he could not walk out on his own, while young children at the game witnesses the event, the paper reported.

"This is embarrassing, very embarrassing, being a school board member and showing up at the school intoxicated," said Magdalena Municipal Judge Robert Serna, who imposed the maximum $500 fine on Ganadonegro, but deferred a 180-day jail sentence, El Defensor Chieftain said.

In the meantime, Serna ruled last Wednesday, Ganadonegro is banned from school property, may not go to any bars while he is on probation for the next six months and must seek alcohol treatment, the paper reported.

Serna said that if the school board member is found on school property, he will be arrested and will serve 180 days in jail, El Defensor Chieftain said.

School Superintendent Mike Chambers told the paper last week that Ganadonegro told him he'd like to continue serving as a school board in some capacity, but Chambers said he didn't think it would be possible.

If a school board member misses three meetings in a row, he is automatically removed from the board, said Chambers, who added: "The board will have to come together and decide how they want to handle it." 

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