MORGAN HILL (KCBS) – Parents of children at Morgan Hill’s Kiddie Academy are being asked to contact police, after a teacher who has been with the preschool for the past five years was recently arrested at her Hollister home on felony charges of child endangerment.

According to an investigation by the Morgan Hill Police Department, a witness saw Deborah Gratz, 59, place a substance into the drinking cups of some children. When confronted by a school official, Gratz allegedly admitted that the substance was Sominex, an over the counter sleep aid.

She was fired by the school last Friday.

“As a parent you give this trust that you not only drop off your kids, which is difficult enough, but then that trust to be just crumpled is very disheartening,” said Morgan Hill Police Spokesman Sgt. Troy Hoefling.

Greg Pyle’s three-year-old daughter attends Kiddie Academy. He was disturbed to hear the news.

“No parent wants to hear that. That’s not good,” he said.

Police have said the motive remains under investigation; authorities have apparently seized evidence pertaining to their investigation at Gratz’s home.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the children ingested any tainted beverages. Police said the alleged Sominex incident only happened once and that all the children are okay.

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