CLAY COUNTY, Fla. Aug 23 2020– A custodian at Middleburg High School was arrested and accused of selling a controlled substance to an undercover deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Working with the Clay County District Schools Police Department, Kristen Howard was arrested Friday at the school and booked into the Clay County jail. She has been suspended from her job, the district said.

On Wednesday, members of the CCSO Targeted Narcotics Team arranged to buy Suboxone pills from Howard at Middleburg High School.

An undercover detective met with her in the parking lot and paid Howard $200 in exchange for 20 Suboxone pills, a drug used to treat opiate addiction, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Howard is accused of sale/delivery of a schedule III prescription drug within 1000 feet of a school zone.

“She should not be working there, and they need to do more background checks and drug tests for teachers and all the employees,” said Middleburg resident Katelynn Campbell.

Those News4Jax spoke to said Middleburg High is a good school and the actions of one shouldn’t tarnish the school as a whole.

“I am very surprised. It blew my mind when you just told me that,” Campbell said. “One custodian cannot ruin the school, but if it kept on going it could have.”

A spokeswoman from the Clay County School District issued a statement about the arrest:

Clay County District Schools was notified of the arrest of a Middleburg High School employee by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, August 21st. The Clay County District Schools Police Department is assisting the sheriff’s office with this investigation. The employee is currently suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. Clay County District Schools will not tolerate this type of behavior.

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