BENNINGTON -- A former Arlington teacher received a nine-month deferred sentence Friday after pleading guilty in Bennington District Court to enabling the consumption of alcohol by minors.

Allyson Hoffman, 38, of Sunderland, will also have to complete tasks assigned to her by a reparative board as part of her sentence. Judge David Suntag said that Hoffman will be on probation for the nine-month period, and if she successfully completes it, her record will be expunged.

Hoffman was arraigned on Sept. 22 with the enabling charge, along with a possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana charge in connection with an underage drinking party that police responded to at Hoffman's home on Aug. 15.

State's Attorney Erica Marthage said Friday that the drug charges were dropped after prosecutors further reviewed the police affidavit and spoke with individuals cited for underage drinking at the scene. Marthage said that there was not enough evidence to suggest that the drugs found at the party either belonged to, or were supplied by, Hoffman.

Hoffman made a statement to the court in which she expressed regret and told her side of the story. She said her daughter had asked for permission to have a party at their home, to which Hoffman agreed, and bought chips and soda with the understanding that the gathering would be small.

She said the day of the party was also the day she had earned her master's degree in teaching. She said that her daughter's

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guests began to arrive at 10:30 p.m. and that she stayed in the kitchen for a half-hour before going to her bedroom to have a few glasses of wine and watch a movie.

"Before going to my bedroom, I saw no kids drinking or using any drugs," Hoffman said. "While I was in my bedroom, I had no idea that kids were drinking, but it is very obvious in retrospect that the possibility of kids bringing alcohol or drugs to a party is something that every adult should be concerned about and anticipate."

Hoffman said that at some point, a girl she knew came into her bedroom, intoxicated, and not feeling well. Hoffman said that the girl had been drinking at another house before coming to hers. Hoffman said she made the girl comfortable on her bed and went out to see what was going on.

"It was then that I saw several young men and women drinking from plastic cups and realized that they were drinking alcohol," she said. "I walked around the house and told every kid that I saw drinking that they should not leave this house tonight. I did not see anyone using drugs, nor did I see any drugs."

Hoffman admitted that her mistake was that she left the party unsupervised by going into her bedroom. "Once I found out that the young men and women were drinking alcohol, I did not take any steps to prevent them from continuing to drink alcohol, I did not call any parent or the authorities. This was a terrible mistake in judgment," she said.

Hoffman became tearful when she neared the end of her statement. "I want to publicly apologize to the parents of these young men and women and to my community for my very poor judgment and for allowing these people to put themselves at risk," Hoffman said. "I am ashamed and embarrassed and very sorry. Nothing like this will ever happen again."

Hoffman had worked as a librarian and computer instructor at Fisher Elementary School, and was a dance team coach at Arlington Memorial High School. The Arlington School District Board announced on Oct. 1 that, after holding an executive session, it had fired Hoffman at the recommendation of Superintendent Charles Sweetman.

Attorney David Silver, who represented Hoffman, said the loss of her job was a blow to his client.

He said that she was a respected teacher who enjoyed her job because it allowed her to do good things for the community. "No one feels more upset for what happened that night than Allyson," Silver said. "We are all human, we all make mistakes, and the mistake she made was not thinking this through."

Silver said that it is a shame the incident was treated as punitively as it was by the board and the community. He said that it could have been used as a teaching opportunity for Hoffman and others on the risks of underage drinking, but "the law is the law, and the facts are the facts."

According to a police affidavit, Vermont State Police Troopers responded to the party and gave five individuals citation paperwork for underage drinking. Police said they found two piles of powder, one of which tested positive for cocaine at the scene, and another that a guest said was crushed Percocet. Police said that they also found a small amount of marijuana.

Police said that the girl found in Hoffman's bed was taken to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for treatment.