A California teacher charged with supplying students with drugs and alcohol received more than $20,000 to resign last year, according to a recently unveiled settlement.
An agreement obtained by the Voice of San Diego shows the Central Union High School District paid 50-year-old teacher Monique Garcia $20,400 to resign last summer after she was charged with endangering the welfare of students on a school camping trip.
Garcia was a teacher at Southwest High School in El Centro when she was supervising a trip to the Laguna Mountains for the school’s Outdoor Adventure Club in February 2019.
Prosecutors allege Garcia provided the teens marijuana and alcohol during the outing, and when they ran out, she had a 17-year-old student drive her to a dispensary and liquor store to get more, NBC 7 reports.
“This is an example of how you should not teach how you should not educate, how you do not take care of children,” said Deputy District Attorney Steven Marquardt said at Garcia’s arraignment.
Marquardt said some of the students got sick from the drugs and alcohol.
The teacher faces two felonies and three misdemeanors, including employment of a minor to sell or carry cannabis, furnishing cannabis to a minor, sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor, child cruelty by endangering health, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to court records.
Garcia pleaded not guilty in early March. Her next hearing is set for May.
As part of Garcia’s termination agreement, the Central Union High School District agreed to only reveal that she worked in the district from August 2008 until June 2019. In exchange, Garcia promised not to sue the district or file any complaints.
The secret arrangements are common in school districts across the country, particularly districts with strong union influence. The deals allow educators who abuse students to regain employment and repeat their behavior, a phenomenon known as “passing the trash” that’s most commonly associated with school employees who sexually abuse students.
The criminal court is less forgiving.
A judge set Garcia’s bond at $100,000 and ordered her to have no contact with any students from the trip as she awaits trial. She faces up to eight years in prison, if convicted.
Neither Garcia nor her attorney returned requests for comment from the Voice of San Diego. The news site exposed systemic shortcomings in how schools handle employee misconduct, which prompted the San Diego Attorney General’s Office to create a Student Safety in School Systems task force last November.
Garcia is the first teacher prosecuted with the help of the new task force.
This piece originally appeared in TheAmericanMirror.com and is used by permission.
Read more at TheAmericanMirror.com:
Listen: Through tears, Biden ex-staffer alleges ‘sexual assault’ by then-senator near capitol
CNN Jake Tapper teaches Biden how to cough into his elbow: ‘I learned that covering your White House’
Judge finds U-M’s student sexual misconduct policies unconstitutional
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steve Gruber.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.