Florida Elementary School Teacher Asked ‘Drug Dealer’ To Deliver Meth At School, Arrested

An elementary school teacher in Florida was arrested for attempting to buy methamphetamine while at school Thursday, authorities said.

Valerie Lee Prince, a first grade teacher at Jacksonville Heights Elementary School under Duval County Public Schools District (DCPS), was caught by an undercover officer who posed as a drug dealer, Clay County sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday.

Prince, 43, called the officer asking for eighth of an ounce of the drug and agreed to pay $85 for it. She told him to arrive at the school compound either before the class hours or during her lunch break.

"It was a pretty nonchalant request and the indication was it was no big deal to the suspect," Sergeant Vincent Hall said.

The meeting was, however, organized after school was over and she was arrested while doing the transaction.

Prince’s credentials were revoked and her keys were confiscated to forbid her access to the school following the arrest, Lieutenant Domenic Paniccia said.

Prince owned up to using the drug at least 10 times over the last five to six months. She was transported to Clay County Jail charged with possession of methamphetamine.

"In a case like this, for a teacher to be willing to leave the classroom, leave those children and to have the intent to go consume any degree of narcotics and then to return to the classroom setting where she has care of children is unacceptable," Sheriff Darryl Daniels said.

The sheriff’s office received a tip about Prince’s conduct in the same week and launched an investigation. Homeland Security and the Duval County School Police Department assisted them to locate her, per the statement.

The school district said the alleged behavior falls short of its standards. “We will conduct our investigation, and take action as appropriate based on the conclusion of that investigation," they told The First Coast News.