Substitute Teacher Found Drunk In Her Classroom

Substitute teacher Judith Richards-Gartee was found drunk in her classroom on Friday, March 17th.

It’s part of the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, “we got drunk when we had every reason to stay sober” and Judith Richards-Gartee would benefit from sitting at a table. The 52 year old substitute teacher has a big problem.  A  drinking problem.  According to a statement from Lexington School District, administrators at South Carolina’s Brookland-Cayce High School where Richards-Gartee was filling in were summoned to her classroom at 9:45AM on Friday, March 17th after she had been behaving erratically and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

At one point, the woman vomited uncontrollably and was so intoxicated, she was incapable of standing, so she had to be removed from the room by wheelchair.  A Lexington County deputy who happened to be on the clock at the high school acting as the school resource officer attempted to speak with Richards-Gartee before finding an open container of boxed wine in her purse.  Upon interviewing the students, administrators discovered their teacher had been drinking it for some time right in front of them.

Richards-Gartee was initially taken to the school’s nurse’s office. Emergency Medical Services then transported her to Lexington Medical Center.  Following examination, it was confirmed the teacher was indeed under the influence.

The district contracts with Kelly Services to provide their schools with substitute teachers, and Richards-Gartee works as a temporary employee through this agency, which operates as an office staffing and work force solutions company.  Kelly Services places employees globally, at all levels, in various sectors including the financial services, information technology, education and law industries.  The company routine performs background checks and drug screenings on its contractors prior to placement, and it just happens to be currently facing a class action lawsuit alleging Kelly Services violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by conducting background checks on job applicants and employees without disclosures that were required by law.  The company has agreed to settle, and objections and opt outs to the class action suit are still being considered through April 10, 2017.

The school district released the following statement regarding the incident with Richards-Gartee:

On Friday, March 10, 2017, it was reported to the Administration of Brookland-Cayce School that a substitute teacher was behaving erratically and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.  This substitute is not an employee of the District, but works for Kelly Services.  Kelly contracts with the District to provide substitute teachers.

The Administration responded immediately, removing the substitute from the classroom and sending her to the School Resource Officer. The District has been advised that law enforcement has filed criminal charges against the Kelly employee.

Richards-Gartee was charged with disorderly conduct.  The local sheriff’s department says it will not be releasing any more information regarding this incident.  But, one thing is for certain, this public servant likely will not be sitting in another classroom for quite some time.

Sources:

District issues statement after sub accused of being drunk at high school

Substitute teacher accused of drinking box of wine in front of students

KELLY SERVICES BACKGROUND CHECK CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT