Laurie Laubenstein, New London elementary teacher in Wisconsin arrested using cocaine at school after observed behaving irregularly during class.
A Wisconsin elementary teacher is accused of having used cocaine on campus. The educator’s arrest followed observed changes in behavior leading to suspicion of drug use.
Laurie Laubenstein, 58, upon her arrest on Thursday was charged with possession of cocaine with a modifier for possession of a controlled substance on or near certain places.
According to a criminal complaint, authorities said a school staffer made an anonymous tip about Laubenstein, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary.
Frequent visits to the bathroom and recovered white powder
The tipster said a school resource officer had noticed changes in Laubenstein’s behavior according to WOWT.
The tipster also told police they had seen Laubenstein frequently go into the bathroom with her purse and had found bloody tissues and white powder in the restroom area.
The un-identified tipster told police that the school principal was informed about the concerns but did not take them seriously.
Authorities said a school resource officer took a sample of the white powder to the police station. It tested positive for cocaine.
Cocaine addiction and the mistaken belief one doesn’t need help
The school resource officer returned to the school on Feb. 12 with a police K-9 and searched Laubenstein, finding cocaine in her purse and coat pocket, the complaint said.
Police said Laubenstein admitted to buying $200 worth of cocaine earlier in the week. After initially saying she did not use cocaine ‘all the time,’ she admitted to using cocaine in the bathroom of the teachers’ lounge and off the changing table in the bathroom of her kindergarten classroom. She also told police that ‘cocaine never did anything for her so she didn’t understand why she continued using it.’
The educator further claimed she had started using coke in August (do you suppose?). Police said Laubenstein also admitted to using cocaine that day before school started and after school, as well as in the classroom and teacher’s lounge bathrooms.
Laubenstein told investigators that she always cleaned up after herself and would never put her students in danger, WBAY reported citing the criminal complaint.
The school district sent a letter to parents and families notifying them of the investigation and saying that at no point were students or staff in harm’s way.
Officials said the situation remains under investigation.
