A substitute teacher in Barre Town was cited for cocaine possession and reckless endangerment after a student reported she was under the influence in the classroom.
Melissa Martin, 47, was a permanent substitute teacher at Barre Town Elementary and Middle School, Chief William Dodge said in a Thursday press release.
According to the release, a student reported her “unusual behavior” to staff on Wednesday morning. Martin also allegedly admitted to the school’s administration that she had cocaine in her jacket pocket, Barre Town police said.
School staff “cleared the halls” to allow emergency personnel and town police to respond to “a medical emergency,” Superintendent JoAn Canning, Principals Erica Pearson and Shannon Miller said in a message posted to the district’s website. The incident involved only one adult and no students were injured, the statement said.
Barre Town police searched the jacket, located in the classroom she had been teaching in, and found a white powdery substance, the release said.
Tests of the substance yielded a “presumptive positive” result for cocaine, the release said. Dodge said via email that the police department did not test Martin herself to determine whether she had drugs in her system.
Emergency medical services transported Martin from the building, but she had not overdosed, Dodge wrote. He said that the department was not aware of her having any prior arrests or citations.
The school district said in its statement that Martin was “no longer in the building” but did not specify her employment status. The Barre Unified Union School District did not return an immediate request for comment.
The statement said that the district leaders “cannot speak more to any information regarding this incident as it was handed over to the Barre Town Police.”
