Teacher’s drug case shelved
by Kootenai Valley Record
September 2, 2011
The felony drug case against a Libby High School teacher has been put on the shelf for two years with the potential for the charges to be dropped at the end of that period.
Mort Curtiss, 54, was charged in March with two counts of distribution of dangerous drugs after being accused of giving an informant working for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office a small amount of oxycodone and marijuana at the Elks lodge in Libby. Under the terms of a pre-trial diversion agreement filed last week in district court, Curtiss will not be tried for a period of two years. At the end of that period, if Curtiss complies with the conditions of the agreement, the charges will be dismissed.
The conditions of the agreement are that Curtiss not violate any laws, that he pay $1,000 restitution to the county drug fund, and that he obtain a chemical dependency evaluation and comply with its recommendations.
As part of the agreement, Curtiss stipulated that the prosecution could prove that he gave one oxycodone pill, one partial pill, and a small amount of marijuana to the informant. The agreement also stipulates that Curtiss had a valid prescription for the oxycodone and a state-issued medical marijuana card.
The case had initially been scheduled to go to trial in late July, but the trial was rescheduled to start Sept. 13 following a request from Curtiss and defense attorney Scott Hilderman. The trial was scheduled for three days.
An industrial arts and driver education teacher at Libby High School, Curtiss was suspended from his job after a hearing with the school board in April. Although district superintendent Kirby Maki had recommended termination under a district policy governing conduct by employees that has a negative impact on students or disrupts the functioning of the schools, the board elected to suspend Curtiss without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Curtiss remains suspended pending further action from the school board. Maki said last week that Steve Garrett of Troy has been hired to fill the industrial arts position on a temporary basis, but that the driver education slot has not been filled, leaving the school with just one teacher in that position instead of two.
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Editor's Note: See the August 30, 2011 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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