Paragraph five reads: ” ‘She befriended them before they
were even students of hers,’ Curran said. ‘She
enticed them with Zoloft, marijuana and
alcohol, and they would come over and do favors in terms of cleaning up her
house‘.”
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/09/16/02803329/index.xml
Grant High School teacher arrested
By SARAH
SUTSCHEK – ssutschek@nwherald.com
FOX LAKE – A teacher at Grant
Community High School in Fox Lake is free on bond Wednesday after police said
she provided students with alcohol, marijuana and an antidepressant in exchange
for household chores.
Kym A. Krocza, 41, of 36300 N. Wilson Road in
Ingleside, was charged with two counts of contributing to the criminal
delinquency of a juvenile, a Class 4 felony punishable by up to six years in
prison.
She taught algebra and calculus.
The Lake County Sheriff’s
Office began its investigation after a concerned parent reported that her child
had been to Krocza’s home and was given alcohol and marijuana. Another student
also had been given alcohol, marijuana and Zoloft, according to a news release.
Both students were 14-year-old female freshmen, Sheriff Mark Curran
said.
“She befriended them before they were even students of hers,”
Curran said. “She enticed them with Zoloft, marijuana and alcohol, and they
would come over and do favors in terms of cleaning up her house.”
The
incidents are believed to have taken place between January and August.
Additional charges are possible. Curran said Krocza had no previous criminal
record.
“Everybody was victimized by a person with an immoral worldview
that shouldn’t be educating our youth,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office
encourages parents to talk with their children about the incident, and the
office continues to investigate whether there were other children
involved.
According to the school’s Web site, Krocza was arrested Tuesday
morning at her home. She has been suspended and is not allowed on school
grounds, nor is she authorized to contact students.
Superintendent John
Benedetti said that whether Krocza’s suspension will be with pay has not been
decided. He declined to comment further, other than to say she was hired in
2000.
Raedel Munster, whose son is a senior at the school, said she was
notified of the arrest Tuesday via e-mail. Her son did not know about the
accusations and did not have Krocza as a teacher, but two of her older children
did, Munster said.
“They never had anything bad to say about her,” she
said.
Munster said that she was pleased with how administrators were
handling the situation.
“I think the superintendent contacted the parents
by the best means possible to let them know that something was going on,” she
said. “I commend them for it; many school districts would try to cover these
things up.”
Had the situation arisen when her firstborn was in school,
she probably would have been upset, Munster said.
“But you realize that
there are all kinds of people in this world, and some of them become teachers,”
she said. “There are some circumstances a school district can’t
control.”
Krocza’s bond was set at $50,000. Her next court date is
Friday.