A teacher at Prairie Grove High School has been suspended with pay following police accusations that she bought alcohol for a minor, officials said.
Prairie Grove School District Assistant Superintendent David Kellog said math teacher Melissa Stewart will remain suspended while the matter is investigated by the school.
Prairie Grove police announced Wednesday that Stewart, 43, was cited with providing alcohol to a minor after officers interviewed her and four teens. Police spokesman Capt. Jeff O'Brien said three of the teens graduated from Prairie Grove High School in May, and another was a current student at the school.
According to the police report, Stewart on Oct. 31 arrived at an apartment where the four teens were drinking. The report says Stewart drank with the teens for awhile and then left to buy beer and whiskey when the group ran out of alcohol.
Police were told about the October gathering by a concerned parent, the report added.
Police say Stewart told investigators she had given alcohol to people at her house she knew were under 21. But she said those people were not current students, according to the report.
Stewart is scheduled to be arraigned in Prairie Grove District Court on Jan. 5.