SAN ANTONIO – A Northside Independent School District teacher was arrested earlier this month after allegedly dropping crystal methamphetamine in a school hallway, leaving parents questioning the delayed notification.
Daniel Anthony Gonzalez, 38, a special education teacher at Mary Hull Elementary School, was arrested on drug and child endangerment charges on Dec. 6.
Parents, including some with children in Gonzalez’s class, were only informed about the incident recently.
Chelsy Leal, a parent from the elementary school, expressed shock upon hearing the news.
“That is actually my son’s teacher,” Leal said, visibly emotional. “He is the one who takes care of my son.”
Students were sent home with a letter to notify families of the arrest, which stated the incident “in no way involved any Mary Hull Elementary School students or other staff members.” However, when parents learned the teacher’s identity involved, many voiced concerns.
Leal, who has a son in special education, questioned whether the teacher could safely care for children.
“Special needs children need extra care, so if he’s drugged out trying to take care of my kid, how is that safe for my kid?” she said.
According to an NISD police report, Gonzalez was caught on security footage reaching for keys in his pocket to unlock a door when a matchbox fell in the hallway.
School staff found the matchbox and alerted district police, who confirmed that the substance inside was methamphetamine.
Some parents, particularly those whose children were in his classroom, questioned why they were not notified sooner.
“They just need to notify parents as soon as that happens, not weeks later like this now, what just happened,” Leal said.
Stephanie Rodriguez, another parent, said she was shocked to learn about the arrest online instead of being directly notified by the school. “I was in shock because I found out over the internet and not having a direct phone call,” Rodriguez said.
An NISD spokesperson stated that staff acted quickly to report the suspicious item, and the district police took swift action to confirm the substance’s nature.
“Staff acted quickly to turn in the unidentified item, and NISD Police acted swiftly to determine what the item was and its origin,” the spokesperson said.
Gonzalez was placed on administrative leave on the day of his arrest and submitted his resignation, effective Dec. 20.
Despite the arrest, one anonymous parent praised him as a teacher.
“I know moving forward that teacher won’t be here anymore, and I’m grateful for that because of what happened, but it doesn’t change the fact that that’s been a good teacher for my girls for years,” the parent said.
