Teacher assistant charged after allegedly drinking wine in an Iredell Co. school

MOORESVILLE, NC (WBTV) – A teacher assistant at a Mooresville elementary school was charged Tuesday after she was found to be impaired and had an empty bottle of wine in her purse and cup full of wine, according to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Darren Campbell said the principal of Shepherd Elementary School called the county resource officer to say a staff member was possibly impaired.

The principal had become aware that Jessica Sue Proctor, an employee of Stepping Stones Groupa company the Iredell-Statesville School System uses to temporarily fill positions, smelled of alcohol.

Proctor was taken to the school’s office and was determined to be impaired.

The open bottle was found in her purse, which deputies say students could have easily accessed.

Iredell-Statesville School District has released the following statement:

The safety of our students is our top priority. We are thankful that our employees felt empowered to speak up when something was not right. Due to the prompt response by our school administration, with assistance from the school resource officer and I-SS human resources department, the suspected employee was questioned, alcohol was found, and the employee was removed immediately. In the duties of this individual, no child was left alone with this individual at any time.

Jessica Sue Proctor served as a contracted teacher assistant for two days at Shepherd Elementary School through The Stepping Stones Group.

In an effort to fully staff our schools, our district has used staffing agencies to fill positions.

Proctor was charged with misdemeanor possession of alcohol on a school campus and misdemeanor child neglect.

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