An Auckland teacher has had her registration cancelled after recording explicit videos of herself urinating on the floor of a classroom and on a student's belongings.
The New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found Lisa Marie Edmondson had committed serious misconduct.
The school was alerted to the content after the deputy principal of the school was approached by a member of the public who had come across a video on TikTok and recognised the setting. A search for the username led to a pornographic account.
The account contained more than 30 explicit videos which had been recorded at various locations over a period of two-and-a-half years.
In one of the videos, Edmondson appeared to urinate on the floor of a classroom with genitalia clearly visible. A second video showed the teacher urinating on a hat with a student’s name clearly visible in a lost property box.
The summary of facts stated there was an "ongoing urine smell" in some classrooms during the time of her employment which had been attributed to rats and mice. Bait stations had been set up during the school holidays but no rodent activity was noted. The tribunal said her students were "likely to have been adversely affected" due to evidence of an "unpleasant smell that required deep cleaning".
While she was not visible in the videos, the teacher was recognised due to her voice and clothing.
Edmondson resigned in May 2023 after receiving notice of a formal investigation.
Following her resignation, Edmondson worked as a relief teacher at a second school before being invited to apply for a fixed-term position.
The tribunal found that Edmondson had failed to disclose her full employment history when applying for – and subsequently working at – a new school in 2023 and failing to inform her employer that she was the subject of a mandatory report and current investigation by the Teaching Council.
In her reflective statement, Edmondson acknowledged that she had let her students down and "was not the role model that I should have been for them".
"I have accepted that the likelihood of returning as a teacher has ended. This has been a very difficult concept to accept because I loved teaching, loved being in the classroom and loved my students and their whānau."
The tribunal noted Edmondson failed to address the conduct head on or express concern for her former students and colleagues.
Edmondson’s registration was cancelled and the former teacher was issued a formal censure. She was ordered to pay $3,255.87 towards the Complaints Assessment Committee’s costs and $582 to the Teaching Council.
'I have let down so many people'
In a statement to Stuff, Edmondson said she had no choice but to accept the ruling, but regretted her actions.
“During a two-year period which covers this time I was suffering from extreme anxiety, I can’t explain why I did it other than self sabotage and treating myself badly for things that had happened. By the time it was reported, I really did not even remember and hadn’t done anything else.”
Her actions had impacted her children and her ability to provide for them.
"I can’t change what I have done, but can make sure it never happens again."
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