Manchester School Principal, Previously Convicted Of Drunken Driving In Concord, Arrested Again In Bow

CONCORD, NH — A high school principal in Manchester was arrested in Bow in July on her second drunken driving charge, according to New Hampshire State Police and Concord District Court records.

Debora Ann Roukey, 58, of Blake Road in Weare, was arrested on July 12 on driving under the influence, DUI-2nd offense, and speeding charges as well as a yellow/solid line violation.

According to state police, Roukey was arrested around 1 a.m. while driving north on Interstate 93 in Bow. She was accused of speeding and driving two of her right tires over and across the solid line of the highway. Roukey was pulled over, determined to be “under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or any controlled drug or any combination of intoxicating liquor and controlled drug, which impaired their ability to drive,” and arrested, the complaint stated.

After being arrested, Roukey was released on bail. Her attorney entered a plea of not guilty and moved to waive arraignment in Concord District Court on July 20.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information provided by the Concord District Court and New Hampshire State Police and does not constitute a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

According to the court, the case has seen no movement in the past two months.

New Hampshire State Police, not the city of Concord prosecutor’s office, is handling the case. It is unclear why the case has stalled and state police did not return a request for information about the prosecutor in the case before publication.

Previous Concord Conviction

Roukey, according to court records, was previously convicted of driving under the influence in November 2017.

Records show she was arrested on Oct. 27, 2017, on DUI and aggravated DUI-0.16-plus charges. She was released on Oct. 30 on $2,000 personal recognizance and arraigned on Nov. 17, when she pleaded guilty to the charge and the aggravated DUI charge was nolle prossed.

A month later, Roukey was fined $930 and her license was revoked for 10 months.

In February 2018, a motion was made to reduce her license suspension after she enrolled in an impaired driver care management program. The suspension was lowered to four months and she completed the program in late March 2018.

Long-Time SAU 37 Employee

Roukey, who grew up in Goffstown, is a long-time Manchester School District employee, working for the system for about 25 years as an assistant principal at West and Central before becoming principal at Central in 2021.

She was also the first woman to be appointed to the principal’s position at Central in 175 years, according to Manchester Ink Link. She also previously worked for the Londonderry school district.

Roukey was paid $141,093 in annual salary in 2024, according to govsalaries.com.

Jennifer Chmiel, the superintendent of schools in Manchester, did not return an email seeking comment or about the district’s arrest policy before publication.

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