A teacher struggling with alcoholism was caught stealing four bottles of wine, and later poured wine into her drink-bottle, which she sipped while on lunch duty at school. 

Her bottle containing the wine was later discovered in her classroom. 

The woman’s behaviour was the culmination of a mental breakdown, which she attributed to working through the Covid-19 lockdown, a marriage separation and adjusting to being a single mother, the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal has heard. 

The tribunal found that her covertly drinking alcohol on school grounds while responsible for supervising children placed those students at risk. 

While the tribunal made its ruling on the matters last year, the decision was only publicly released this week. 

According to the decision, the woman, whose name and the schools at which she worked were suppressed, had been a registered teacher since 2011. 

Her problem with alcohol began in September 2020 while she was teaching at a primary and intermediate school. 

That year, she stole four bottles of sauvignon blanc wine from a local Liquorland on three separate occasions by entering the wine chiller, putting the bottles in her bag, then purchasing more bottles to avoid suspicion. 

The stolen wine had a total value of $103.96. 

The store’s manager discovered the shoplifting after reviewing the store’s CCTV footage and made a report to the police. 

She was charged with three counts of theft (under $500), which has a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment. 

The woman admitted the offending and explained that she was on a “downward spiral of self-destruction” because of a relationship break-up. 

She completed a police diversion process, which involved her making a reparation payment of $103, writing an apology letter to the store owners and completing alcohol counselling. The charges were then dismissed. 

The teacher left her drink bottle containing wine in the classroom. 

In October 2020, her employment with the primary and intermediate school ended as she began a new job at a primary school in northern Waikato. 

However, the principal at the previous school was alerted by a teacher and four community members about the shoplifting. But as the employment had ended, she was not subject to disciplinary action. 

Her reliance on alcohol continued into 2022, while she was in her new job. 

The woman was on lunch duty during the second half of the lunch break, leaving her responsible for monitoring students. 

While on duty, she grabbed a bottle of wine from her car and poured it into her drink bottle and then, leaving the wine bottle in her car, sat at an outside table on school grounds and drank several sips from the drink bottle. 

Another teacher said she could smell the wine while sitting next to her. When the woman realised the other teacher had noticed, she moved the bottle. 

After the lunch break, she left her drink bottle containing the wine in her classroom while she went on a walk with a class of students. 

The principal was alerted and the woman accepted she had “drunk five to six sips of wine”. 

The matter was referred to the school’s board of trustees but the woman resigned before it was considered. However, the board later terminated her contract. 

The Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC) was asked to investigate the incidents of shoplifting and consuming wine on school grounds and it submitted a mandatory report to the Teaching Council. The CAC then took the case to the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal. 

The tribunal heard that in response to mandatory reports on the incidents, the woman said that at the time of the shoplifting, she was having a breakdown. 

She attributed the breakdown to having to attend school every day during the Covid-19 lockdown, struggling with a marriage separation, being a single parent and facing an impending surgery. 

The woman said she took accountability for her actions and she’d had to move as a result, but had since turned her life around. 

She said she was also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and had experienced a significant decline in her mental health. She admitted she was addicted to alcohol. 

In response to the report about consuming alcohol on school grounds, she said she had intended to drink the wine after school and while she was preparing material for the relieving teacher who would be taking her class the next day. 

“The tribunal considers the respondent’s actions in taking sips of wine out of her drink bottle while on lunch duty on school grounds and while responsible for monitoring students was inappropriate,” deputy chairwoman of the tribunal Bernadette Arapere said in the decision. 

Deputy chairwoman of the New Zealand Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal, Bernadette Arapere. 

“While there is no evidence that students’ learning or wellbeing were adversely affected or that this was likely given the amount of alcohol consumed, the respondent’s conduct in covertly consuming alcohol on school grounds while responsible for supervising learners placed those learners at risk. 

“Shoplifting and drinking alcohol in the circumstances that she did are risky and dangerous behaviours and reflect poorly on the respondent’s judgment. 

“The tribunal finds the conduct is of a character and severity that meets the criteria for serious misconduct.” 

The CAC acknowledged that the woman appeared to be taking meaningful steps towards her ongoing rehabilitation. However, her health needs were considerable and may affect her ability to safely return to teaching, the decision stated. 

The tribunal censured the woman, and an annotation was added to the teaching register for three years. Conditions were also applied if she resumed teaching. 

Those included providing a copy of the tribunal’s decision to any employers in the teaching profession, and developing a relapse prevention plan. 

Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 and has had a strong interest in business and financial journalism.