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Background: Lincoln Elementary School in New London, Wis. (Google Maps). Inset: Laurie Laubenstein (Waupaca County Sheriff”s Office).
A kindergarten teacher in Wisconsin has been placed on administrative leave following a concerning incident involving a mysterious “white powder” discovered in the restroom of her classroom. This unusual find has led to the arrest of 58-year-old Laurie Laubenstein, who was later released from Waupaca County Jail on charges of cocaine possession.
The situation came to light after an anonymous individual tipped off a school resource officer at Lincoln Elementary School in New London about a noticeable shift in Laubenstein’s behavior. The informant reported observing the powder on the bathroom counter within Laubenstein’s classroom, along with bloody tissues discarded in the trash.
The tipster expressed concerns about Laubenstein’s recent conduct, describing her as increasingly “scatterbrained” and prone to “easily losing focus.” Despite voicing these worries to the school principal, the tipster felt that her concerns were not being adequately addressed. Another person corroborated these observations, noting similar behavior and the presence of bloody tissues following Laubenstein’s use of a private bathroom.
In response to these reports, the school’s principal assured the second individual that he had spoken with Laubenstein and assessed that “the children were not at risk.” Nonetheless, the incident has prompted significant scrutiny, leading to Laubenstein’s arrest and subsequent leave from her teaching position as the investigation continues.
Police said the principal told the second individual that he spoke to Laubenstein and that “the children were not at risk.”
After the purported conversation between Laubenstein and the school principal, the tipster told the officer that she found more powder on Laubenstein’s desk chair and on the bathroom counter. The officer went into the bathroom and saw some powder on the counter. He then ran an on-site drug test, which tested negative for cocaine, but the officer believed the swipe was “compromised.” He collected more of the powder from the bathroom, and another test yielded a positive result for cocaine.
On Feb. 12, police showed up at the school’s parking lot with a K-9 “sniff” unit at the request of the school resource officer. The K-9 alerted to the presence of cocaine in Laubenstein’s Buick Envision SUV. After the alert, Laubenstein was asked to come out to the parking lot while she was inside the school.
Police said Laubenstein had cocaine in her purse and in her coat pocket. Nothing was found in her SUV.
Laubenstein was brought to the New London Police Department station and read her rights. She agreed to speak with investigators and told them that she was dealing with a family-related incident that she could not get “out of her head.” When asked about how long she had been using cocaine, Laubenstein told police that she saw a friend using it in August.
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 school resource officer said students also used the bathroom and were tall enough to reach the changing table. One of her students was confirmed to still be wearing diapers.
Laubenstein told police that “she has never left cocaine in the bathroom and always cleans up after herself.” Local ABC affiliate WBAY reported that the teacher was placed on administrative leave.
Laubenstein was arrested for possession of cocaine and was released from jail. She is due in court on March 17.