Former Norwin drug education teacher sentenced to probation, house arrest for selling drugs
In the three years since being arrested for selling drugs, a former Norwin High School teacher told a Westmoreland County judge Thursday that she has turned her life around, got sober, is engaged to be married and has a baby on the way.
It's a dramatic turn around that even Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani acknowledged as he sentenced Lisa M. Rodnicki to serve five years on probation and 18 months on house arrest.
“I need to say it, and I'm sure you didn't expect to hear this today — congratulations,” Feliciani said. “I don't know how you did it. I need to learn more about how since so many people are struggling with addiction.”
Rodnicki, 40, of Apollo worked as a gym, health and drug education teacher at Norwin when she was arrested after attempting to sell heroin to an undercover agent in 2015.
She pleaded guilty this year to three drug-related charges.
The standard penalty under state sentencing guidelines is three to 23 months in jail. However, Feliciani said he was satisfied Rodnicki, who was not charged with selling drugs to children or on school property, had been rehabilitated and that incarceration was not warranted.
Rodnicki passed a court-ordered drug test prior to her sentencing hearing.
“I became very unrecognizable to myself and family at that time. I do take ownership of my actions,” said Rodnicki, who appeared in court with family members, including her father, William Kerr, who is superintendent of Norwin schools.
Shortly after her arrest, Rodnicki completed a 30-day drug rehabilitation program and continues to receive outpatient treatment, according to defense attorney Bill McCabe.
In the aftermath of her arrest, she resigned from her job at Norwin and surrendered her teaching certificate. As a condition of her court sentence, she is barred from again working as a school teacher.
Rodnicki now works as an adult educator, McCabe said.
“She has remarkably remained drug-free. She was such a severe drug addict at the time I met her that this prosecution saved her life. She might have died from this addiction,” McCabe said.
Criminal charges are pending against her ex-husband, Mark Rodnicki, 37, of Irwin, who is accused of selling drugs to an informant and making threats against that witness.
Charges that Lisa Rodnicki conspired with her then-husband to intimidate the witness were dismissed.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
