Marijuana Policy Project

Awaiting trial on a charge of marijuana possession, a Conway school teacher remains in her sixth-grade classroom at John Fuller Elementary School, where part of her duties entail teaching DARE classes alongside a town police officer, officials said yesterday.

Kelly Horrigan, 26, of North Conway was arrested May 2 after police pulled over a car they said was being driven erratically. Police smelled marijuana and eventually discovered two bags with small amounts of the drug, police said.

Both Horrigan and the driver — Lauren Kulberg, 23, of North Conway — were charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. Kulberg was also charged with possession of drugs in a motor vehicle.

Horrigan was released on her own recognizance and is due in court on June 3.

Horrigan has taught at John Fuller Elementary School for four years. She was in school yesterday, a day that Principal Mark Zangari met with fifth- and sixth-grade students to discuss the matter. He also spoke to Horrigan.

"Let's just say we have a good teacher who is really upset about this," Zangari told a reporter last night. The students are worried about losing their teacher, he said. Zangari also sent a letter home to parents.

If a teacher is convicted of a serious felony, or a sex crime or assault charge involving a child, the teacher loses certification and becomes unable to teach, the principal said.

Policies don't appear to explicitly cover teachers who possess drugs outside of school grounds.

Conway School District policies deal only with teachers who drink or abuse drugs in the workplace, he said.

But Zangari said school officials could act if a conviction affects a teacher's ability to do his or her job.

"Whether the public accepts that (the arrest), we don't know yet. They may not," Zangari said. Teachers, he said, are role models and need to be held to high standards.

Conway police Lt. Chris Perley said the local DARE program is taught in sixth grade throughout the town. The classroom teacher must participate and is an integral part of DARE, Perley said.

Asked whether a conviction would affect Horrigan's ability to participate in DARE, Perley said: "That question's kind of academic, don't you think?"

Perley said he knows of no past problems with Horrigan and the DARE program.

Perley said police charged both Horrigan and Kulberg because two bags were found in the vehicle. When asked whether Horrigan had marijuana actually on her person, Perley said he did not want to discuss details about the charges.