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 disturbing discovery in her classroom’s bathroom. The incident came to light at Lincoln Elementary School in New London when an anonymous individual reported finding a suspicious “white powder” in the bathroom used by the teacher, Laurie Laubenstein.
Laubenstein, aged 58, found herself in legal trouble after being arrested for cocaine possession. She was later released from the Waupaca County Jail. The sequence of events that led to her arrest began with an anonymous tip to a school resource officer, which highlighted unusual changes in Laubenstein’s behavior.
According to the criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, the tipster observed powder on the bathroom counter and bloody tissues in the trash. These alarming observations raised further concerns about Laubenstein, who was described as increasingly “scatterbrained” and frequently “losing focus.” Despite the tipster’s attempts to bring these issues to the attention of the school principal, she felt her concerns were dismissed.
Another individual corroborated the tipster’s account, noting similar findings of bloody tissues after Laubenstein’s use of the private bathroom. This person also reported their observations to the principal. In response, the principal assured that “the children were not at risk,” but it seems the concerns persisted.
Subsequent to the principal’s conversation with Laubenstein, the tipster discovered more powder on the teacher’s desk chair and bathroom counter. A school resource officer intervened and conducted an on-site drug test, which initially returned a negative result for cocaine. However, the officer suspected the sample was “compromised” and collected additional powder for testing. This time, the results confirmed the presence of cocaine.
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.
