A teacher that was placed on administrative leave following her arrest for having illegal drugs in her classroom was officially terminated during a special called meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Livingston Independent School District Monday.
Livingston Junior High School staff responded to a medical situation involving the employee on March 12. During that response, staff members discovered a substance and the administration notified law enforcement immediately. Investigators arrived and identified the substance as methamphetamine and also found items commonly linked to drug use.
Amanda Marie Stanzel, 38 of Livingston, was charged with possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone and abandoning or endangering a child or individual with intentional reckless criminal negligence. Stanzel was released from the hospital on March 18, taken into custody by Livingston police officers and booked into the Polk County Jail.
The board approved a proposal to terminate Stanzel’s probationary contract during a March 25 special called meeting. Notice was delivered to her on March 26, starting the 15-day time period in which she could have appealed to the Commissioner of Education.
“Livingston ISD takes this matter very seriously. We neither condone nor tolerate this type of behavior by staff members. The district is fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to follow all legal and personnel procedures,” a Livingston ISD press release stated at the time of the teacher’s arrest.
According to the Livingston Police Department, there was no evidence at the time that any students came in contact with the drugs.
