Police say substitute teacher asked students for drugs

EAST RIDGE (AP) — When students at a middle school told the principal Friday that a substitute teacher was behaving strangely and trying to buy Xanax, police said they arranged an undercover transaction.

Police Lt. Tim Mullinax said the teacher, Kielah M. Anderson, 27, was arrested on a charge of possessing a controlled substance after an 18-year-old undercover officer sold the teacher two of the anti-anxiety pills.

Mullinax said Anderson was arrested at East Ridge Middle School during her afternoon break after she had been on the job all day.

“She apparently asked the student if she knew where she could get some Xanax and we went ahead and did a controlled buy,” Mullinax said.

He said Anderson was being held at the Hamilton County Jail on a $5,000 bond pending a March 15 hearing.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a teacher soliciting students for drugs,” Mullinax said. “You have to give credit to the kids for coming to the administration.”