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Middle school teacher resigns after drug arrest

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A North Forsyth County Middle School teacher has resigned and is now facing drug charges.

Deputies say Alisen Mooney was caught doing drugs in her car off campus.

James Zirlott’s daughter, Jillian, is in eighth grade at Forsyth Middle.

“I was shocked. I felt bad for the Mooneys. The Mooneys are good people,” he told Channel 2’s Craig Lucie.

“She was nice. She didn’t seem as mean as people said she was. She was very nice to me,” said Jillian.

Hall County sheriff’s deputies say they spotted Mooney and another man doing drugs in a car in a grocery store parking lot. They say they found oxycodone and several powerful prescription pain pills.

“In class she seemed to be with it at all times. She seemed together. Occasionally she would be, on some days, not totally up to date with it,” said Jillian. “I thought she was tired or something.”

Mooney, who graduated from north Forsyth High School in 2005, resigned a few days after her arrest.

Lucie spoke with the Forsyth County School System spokesperson who told him: "She started teaching in 2010 and her last day on campus was March 20th. The classes will have a long-term substitute until the end of the school year."

Elliot went to Mooney’s home to get her side of the story, but no one answered the door.

One of her charges includes possession of amphetamines with the intent to distribute.

She was released from the Hall County Jail Monday after posting $8,800 bond.