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Teacher Admits to Smoking Pot With Students
Friday, June 2, 2000 MESA, Ariz. —

A popular Mesa junior high school teacher has admitted to police that she invited students to her townhouse in the waning days of the school year so they could smoke marijuana.

Eva Kovacs, 35, told police that she drove students from Kino Junior High School to her home four times and gave them marijuana so they could get high.

For providing the drug to her students, Kovacs faces two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police could only cite Kovacs with the misdemeanors, said Mesa police Sgt. Earle Lloyd, because they did not have any physical evidence of the drug use.

"Just the fact that she admitted to giving it to kids is not reason enough to charge her with possession of drugs," Lloyd told the Tribune, a newspaper serving the suburban Phoenix area.

The parent who first called police about Kovacs said he was devastated to learn about her pot parties with students.

"As a parent, I expect these people to be role models," said Mike Health, whose son was at Kovacs' house but did not smoke marijuana. "Our confidence in the teaching profession has been somewhat betrayed by her."

Police and school officials learned of the pot-smoking students on the last day of school. School officials said they could take little action against Kovacs because they had decided earlier this spring not to renew her contract.

Administrators at the Mesa Unified School District referred Kovacs' case to the Arizona Department of Education, which could revoke her teaching certificate.

Kovacs worked part time at the school two years, where she taught several drama classes and an English course.

A boy who smoked pot with Kovacs told police he first went to her home after a May 12 school dance. Kovacs drove some students home, the boy said, but brought him to her house in the 2300 block of East University Drive.

The two smoked from a bong in her living room, he told police. She drove the student home after about 30 minutes.

That student said Kovacs had previously told him he was "hot" and she would like to have sex with him but she "couldn't mess with me until I was 18." Nothing sexual ever happened between her and students, teens told police.

A boy told police Kovacs also talked with students about their sex lives, and made verbal bets on when a couple who dated would first have sex.

Kovacs left the state shortly after the last day of school, so police were not able to interview her until this week. A detective spoke with her Wednesday night, Lloyd said, when she admitted to smoking marijuana.

Police arrested her after the interview, but released her because the case was only a misdemeanor.

Investigators don't suspect Kovacs was involved in other illegal activity with students.

"Unless another child comes forward, we don't have any reason to believe another child was involved," Lloyd said.

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