Laurie Laubenstein (Waupaca Co. Jail)
WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A kindergarten teacher who admitted she snorted cocaine in a school bathroom pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a drug possession charge.
Laurie Laubenstein, 58, faces a misdemeanor count of possession of cocaine, with an enhancer for it being near a school.
No trial date was set. She returns to court June 10 for a status conference, court records show.
According to the complaint, police were notified of suspicious behavior by Laubenstein, who worked at New London’s Lincoln Elementary School.
She told investigators she was using the drug to cope with a family issue.
“Laubenstein admitted she uses a straw to snort the cocaine in the bathroom and admitted to using the bathroom in her kindergarten classroom as well as the bathroom that is in the teachers’ lounge. Laubenstein admitted that she snorted the cocaine in the corner of the classroom bathroom on the counter where she stated “they used to change kids”. Laubenstein stated she never snorted cocaine at her desk,” the complaint states.
“Laubenstein admitted earlier in the interview she has never left cocaine in the bathroom and always cleans up after herself as she would never put her students in danger,” the complaint states.
Powder collected on a changing table in the bathroom tested positive for cocaine, according to the complaint.
In February, the school district said Laubenstein had been placed on leave pending termination.
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