Metro

City can’t fire teacher busted with heroin in court

Here’s one heck of a civics lesson for the city’s public school kids.

The Department of Education can’t fire a drug-addicted Brooklyn high-school teacher who was busted bringing 20 bags of heroin into a Manhattan courthouse, a judge has ruled.

Damian Esteban, 34, was caught with the dope hidden in a pack of cigarettes when he reported to Manhattan Supreme Court for jury duty in a murder trial in October 2012, court records say.

The DOE wanted to fire Esteban and an arbitrator agreed, writing in his decision that, “He is not being punished for his addiction but for his reckless and irresponsible behavior” – and agreeing Esteban should get canned.

But in a ruling made public Thursday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez tossed the arbitrator’s decision.

“There is no evidence that the conduct with which [Esteban] was charged affects his performance as a teacher,” Mendez wrote in his decision, which orders the DOE to find a penalty for Esteban other than termination.

“Suspension without pay seems to be a more appropriate penalty,” Mendez wrote.

Esteban – who taught at High School for Architecture and Design – claimed he didn’t know the heroin was in his bag and that he was no longer addicted to the drug, which he started using to deal with the pain of an ankle injury, court documents state.

Mayor Bloomberg and city lawyers slammed the decision.

“We could not disagree more strongly with the judge’s decision to overturn an arbitrator’s ruling terminating a teacher for possessing 20 bags of heroin,” Hizzoner said in a statement, adding that the city would appeal.

“We strongly disagree with the court and believe that it misapplied the law,” said city Law Department head Michael Cardoza. “We cannot fathom how a teacher who took 20 bags of heroin into a courthouse is fit to stand in front of a classroom and teach the City’s schoolchildren.”

The DOE did not provide a comment.