New Kent High School students found open bottle of alcohol in principal’s car

NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The principal of New Kent High School is facing a misdemeanor charge following an investigation into an open bottle of alcohol students saw in his car, according to the county’s school division.

8News received an email on Tuesday, April 23, that was sent out by New Kent County Public Schools. The school division’s superintendent, Brian Nichols, confirmed to 8News that the email’s contents were genuine and were indeed written by the division.

In that email, the division informed New Kent High School families of an incident that recently occurred on school grounds.

According to the email, multiple students reported seeing an opened bottle of alcohol inside of a vehicle in the school’s parking lot.

“Possession of alcohol on school grounds is both a violation of school division policy and a misdemeanor offense,” the email reads. “We immediately contacted the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in investigating this report.”

Following this investigation, the school’s principal, Christopher Valdrighi, was reportedly charged with possession of alcohol on school grounds. According to the email, he has since been put on administrative leave.

“The Sheriff’s Office determined that the principal was not under the influence of alcohol during the time of the investigation,” the email reads.

The county Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Facebook that it assisted the school division in this investigation on April 23. According to the office, Valdrighi has been released on a summons pending his court appearance.

8News reached out to the school division for more information and was told it “cannot comment further on an ongoing personnel matter.”

No other information is available at this time.

This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.

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