Teacher Accused of Using Cocaine in Classroom

A high school teacher was placed on administrative leave Wednesday after an administrator allegedly saw him snorting cocaine in his classroom.

Richard Bedigan, 47, of Burbank, was seen “ingesting cocaine through a straw by an assistant principal at Burroughs High School,” said Bob Frazier, director of personnel for the Burbank Unified School District.

Arrested Tuesday at the school, soon after the alleged incident, Bedigan was charged with possession and being under the influence of cocaine and was booked into the Burbank jail Tuesday evening; he was later released on $10,000 bond.

“It’s a strong case,” said Lt. Robert Giles of the Burbank Police Department. “It’s a simple scenario, pretty straightforward. He was seen doing it.”

Bedigan allegedly used the cocaine during a lunch period when the classroom was empty, and there were no other witnesses.

County prosecutors began reviewing the case Wednesday, but have yet to file charges in court.

Bedigan has been a science instructor at Burroughs since 1990, when he joined the district’s faculty, Frazier said. The district will not take steps related to continued employment of Bedigan, whose leave will be paid, until after his criminal case has been resolved.

Bedigan could not be reached for comment.

“If he is convicted, his teaching career is over,” said Randy Pearson, president of the 750-member Burbank Teachers Assn. “At this point, he seems to be getting due process. That’s one of our major concerns.”

School and teachers’ union officials noted that Bedigan has never been the target of complaints at Burroughs. They also said no similar incident of alleged drug use by a teacher within a local school building had ever been reported.

Officials at Burroughs refused to comment on the incident, referring all questions to district administrators.

Bedigan’s arrest on the campus marks the third time in recent years that a Burbank school teacher or employee has faced criminal charges.

In April, Robert Goar, who had been chairman of the Burroughs High School science department for six years, pleaded no contest to charges that he molested the 14-year-old daughter of a friend employed by the school district.

Last year, Salle Dumm, president of the Burbank Education Foundation, a nonprofit fund-raising organization connected to the school district, was tried on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old student who played on the Burbank High School football team. A jury eventually deadlocked on the charges, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial and order the matter closed.

The Dumm case prompted the resignation of the local school board president amid charges that he had attempted to cover up the incident. It also led to the conviction of a Burbank High School football coach for making threats against another coach who had helped investigators gather evidence against Dumm. The convicted coach was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and two days in the city jail.