TEACHER SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR SMOKING MARIJUANA WITH TWO STUDENTS

former Hanford West High School physical education teacher was sentenced to
jail Tuesday after admitting that she smoked marijuana with two of her
teen-age students.

Kings County Superior Court Judge Peter Schultz sentenced Clovis resident
Tonia Lee Reynolds, 31, to nine months in jail and five years of felony
probation for furnishing marijuana to a minor, Deputy District Attorney
Adam Nelson said.

Reynolds was leaving the school Sept. 24 when she met two of her students
in the parking lot, Defense Attorney Gary Paden said. It is unclear whether
the girls asked for a ride or whether Reynolds offered them one, he said.

Reynolds and the two girls -- ages 14 and 15 -- left the campus in the
teacher's vehicle and drove to Hidden Valley Park where "the evidence
indicates that a small amount of marijuana in a pipe was passed around,"
Paden said.

An assistant principal at the school heard a rumor about the incident and
called police, he said. Hanford police arrested Reynolds Oct. 6.

"As a result of this incident and her subsequent felony conviction, it will
be extremely difficult if not impossible for her to be involved in teaching
again," Paden said.

Reynolds, who received her bachelor's degree from California State
University, Fresno, was two months away from receiving teaching credentials
from National University, he said.

After her arrest, Reynolds resigned from her Hanford teaching position,
Hanford West Principal Lowell Neilson said.

"It's not a good situation, any way you look at it," Neilson said.

Reynolds could have received up to five years in jail for the offense,
Paden said.

Reynolds had no prior criminal record.

"I think her sentence was somewhat harsh, but I can understand the feelings
of others that she betrayed the community and the school by being someone
who was a teacher and exposed students to marijuana," Paden said. "The
judge was fair."