Teacher Allegedly High on Meth in Class Is Jailed

A Riverside County kindergarten teacher was pulled out of class and arrested Tuesday on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Lynne Filippini, 47, was teaching at French Valley Elementary School in the southwest Riverside County town of Winchester when “other teachers noticed she was acting strange,” said Earl Quinata, a Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesman.

Filippini, of Temecula, was evaluated by a school resource officer, who then called the sheriff’s office. When authorities searched her belongings, they found items “that are consistent with the use of illicit drugs,” sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Zerkel wrote in a news release.

Quinata identified one of the items as a straw used to ingest methamphetamine.

A spokeswoman for Temecula Valley Unified School District declined to comment about Filippini’s arrest.

French Valley Elementary School opened three years ago. The school has 974 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Kindergarten classes are split into morning and afternoon sessions, with each teacher assigned 20 students, school district spokeswoman Danielle Clark said.

Filippini has paid more than $1,000 in traffic fines in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and in November 2004 was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. That case is pending, and the next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

In August 2004, Filippini was found guilty in San Bernardino County Superior Court of speeding in excess of 70 mph, four months after being originally charged with speeding in excess of 100 mph. She paid a $281 fine.

Filippini was jailed at the Southwest Detention Center near Murrieta.