Teacher Gets High With Student, Arrested

A woman who was temporary teacher at Goleta Valley Junior High has been charged with providing and smoking marijuana with a 14-year-old student whom she was tutoring. Melissa Dunning, 31, allegedly smoked pot with the male student on three separate occasions at her house in Santa Barbara while she was supposed to be tutoring him. The 14-year-old boy’s parents were suspicious that they had been smoking together, and called the sheriff’s department after picking up their son from a session on May 31.

After a month-long investigation by the sheriff’s department, the district attorney’s office has moved forward, filing two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of furnishing a student with marijuana.

Dunning was a temporary teacher at Goleta Valley, while working in other capacities in the Santa Barbara School District, according to authorities.

Sheriff’s Detectives are still looking into the allegations and would like anyone with information to call (805) 681-4150.