A public school teacher on Maui is facing drug charges after crystal methamphetamine and a glass pipe were allegedly found in her Kahului home.

Cheryl Bisera, a teacher at Wailuku Elementary School, was arrested Tuesday morning after police executed a search warrant.

Capt. Gerald Matsunaga said police found 2.9 grams of crystal meth and drug paraphernalia, including a glass pipe commonly used to smoke “;ice.”;

Bail was set at $3,000 after the 47-year-old Bisera was charged with third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia and promoting a controlled substance near a school. Matsunaga said Bisera's home is near Maui High School.

“;She has been placed on paid leave pending investigation,”; said Sandy Goya, spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “;Because this is a personnel matter, the details regarding the investigation are confidential.”;

Bisera has been a department employee since 1986, Goya said.

The current teachers union contract calls for drug testing when there is reasonable suspicion of alcohol or drug use. A provision in the previous teachers contract for random drug testing had been challenged on privacy grounds and the state had taken the issue to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

The push for drug testing came after several Department of Education employees were arrested on drug charges, including a Leilehua High School teacher charged in October 2006 with dealing crystal meth. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

In 2008, a teacher at Keaukaha Elementary School on the Big Island was charged with methamphetamine trafficking. A federal judge sentenced her to five years in prison.

———

Star-Bulletin reporter Susan Essoyan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.