A 58-year-old kindergarten teacher in New London, Wisconsin, now faces a cocaine possession charge after white powder in a classroom bathroom tested positive, raising questions about how long drug use may have gone unnoticed on campus and how Lincoln Elementary School handled earlier internal warnings.
TLDR
Police in New London, Wisconsin, say kindergarten teacher Laurie Laubenstein brought cocaine to Lincoln Elementary School, used it in staff and classroom bathrooms, and was arrested after powder in her classroom tested positive. She is on administrative leave and faces a possession charge in Waupaca County.
Tipster Raised Concerns About Teacher’s Behavior
According to a criminal complaint filed in Waupaca County Circuit Court and described by Law & Crime, teacher Laurie Laubenstein came to police attention after an anonymous staff member reported a noticeable shift in her behavior at Lincoln Elementary School in the New London School District.
The tipster told the school resource officer that Laubenstein, who taught kindergarten, had become “scatterbrained” and was “easily losing focus.” The staff member also reported seeing a line of white powder on the counter of the private bathroom attached to Laubenstein’s classroom, along with bloody tissues in the trash can.
The complaint states that the employee brought those concerns to the school principal but felt they were not taken seriously. A second, unnamed individual later described similar observations after Laubenstein used another private bathroom, including bloody tissues and a change in demeanor, and said she also went to the principal.
According to police, the second staff member recalled the principal responding that he had spoken with Laubenstein and that “the children were not at risk.” Yet the same employee and the original tipster later reported seeing additional powder in the classroom space.
Drug Testing Turned Suspicion Into a Criminal Case
After the reports reached the school resource officer, he entered Laubenstein’s classroom bathroom to look for any physical evidence, according to the complaint. He saw what he believed to be white powder on the counter and used an on-site test kit designed to detect cocaine.
That first test yielded a negative result for cocaine, but the officer wrote that he believed the sample had been contaminated or “compromised.” He collected more of the material from the bathroom counter and performed a second test, which the complaint says came back positive for cocaine.
On February 12th, 2026, police brought a K-9 sniff unit to the school parking lot at the request of the resource officer. The dog alerted to Laubenstein’s Buick Envision SUV, prompting officers to ask her to come from the school building to the lot.
Police did not find cocaine inside the vehicle itself, according to the complaint, but they reported locating suspected cocaine in Laubenstein’s purse and in a coat pocket. She was then arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession and taken to the New London Police Department.
Teacher’s Statements Contrast with Physical Evidence
At the station, investigators advised Laubenstein of her rights, and she agreed to speak with them, according to the complaint. She told officers she had been dealing with a family-related situation that she could not get “out of her head” and described first seeing a friend use cocaine in August.
Police say Laubenstein admitted purchasing $200 worth of cocaine earlier in the week of her arrest. She initially told officers she did not use cocaine “all the time,” then acknowledged using it both in the bathroom of the teachers’ lounge and on the changing table in the bathroom attached to her kindergarten classroom.
The school resource officer noted in the complaint that students also used that classroom bathroom and were tall enough to reach the changing table. At least one student in Laubenstein’s class was still wearing diapers, the officer wrote.
Laubenstein allegedly told police that cocaine “never did anything for her, so she did not understand why she continued using it.” She also said, according to the complaint, that “she has never left cocaine in the bathroom and always cleans up after herself.”
Those statements about cleaning up sit uneasily alongside earlier accounts from staff, who described seeing powder on the bathroom counter and bloody tissues in the trash. Investigators also documented their own observation of white powder in the classroom bathroom before the positive test result, creating a factual tension between her assurances and the record in the case file.
Administrative Response and Upcoming Court Date
Law & Crime reported that Laubenstein was placed on administrative leave from her position at Lincoln Elementary School after her arrest. The criminal complaint focuses on the allegations of drug possession and use on campus and does not describe any separate internal investigation by the school district.
What is documented is a sequence in which staff members say they observed what looked like drug residue and physical signs of distress, raised those concerns with the principal, and were told students were safe. Only after the powder was tested and cocaine was allegedly found on Laubenstein did the situation move fully into the criminal system.
Laubenstein, a 58-year-old educator, was booked into the Waupaca County Jail on a count of possession of cocaine, then released. Law & Crime reported that she is scheduled to appear in Waupaca County Circuit Court on March 17th, 2026.
The complaint does not allege that any student ingested cocaine or was physically harmed, but it emphasizes that children used the same bathroom where Laubenstein admitted placing the drug on the changing table. That detail is among the facts now before prosecutors, defense counsel, and the court as they assess the risk her conduct posed in an elementary school setting.
As the case moves forward, the criminal proceedings are expected to clarify how frequently Laubenstein used cocaine at school, how long staff had been concerned, and how administrators responded at each stage. For parents, teachers, and students in New London, those answers will shape not only one teacher’s legal fate but also how the district addresses drug use and reporting inside its classrooms.
