by Staff Reporter | May 13, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona Superintendent of Schools Tom Horne expressed concern publicly that Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) leadership is failing in its response to student sexual abuse.
The head of Arizona schools said he was concerned with a lack of transparency within PUSD.
Horne also indicated worry over the recent leadership changes at PUSD amid investigations that follow sexual abuse charges against two Centennial High School teachers, Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka.
Three of the five governing board members voted to remove Heather Rooks from the presidency in a special meeting last week for asking the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) to join an internal investigation of alleged mandatory reporting failures concerning Beck.
The board had voted against bringing the MCAO on in an earlier meeting. Rooks and board member Janelle Bowles voted against replacing Rooks with board member Jeff Tobey.
Arizona law mandates school personnel report to law enforcement, the Department of Child Safety, and the State Board of Education when they have reason to believe that a minor has experienced intentional abuse, neglect, or physical injury.
Unlike the PUSD governing board, the state’s schools chief issued open support for Rooks.
“Horne agrees with Rooks that full reporting is legally required,” stated an Arizona Department of Education press release. “Also, reports are to be made immediately, and reporting to a supervisor or administrator is not sufficient. Failure to comply is a Class I misdemeanor for child abuse or neglect and a Class 6 felony for not reporting a reportable offense.”
Following her ouster from the presidency, Rooks offered details on the alleged mandated reporting failures in an interview with “The Conservative Circus.” Rooks shared an allegation that Centennial High School’s principal sat on reports which accused Beck of grooming and other inappropriate behaviors with a male student.
Rooks voiced feelings of shame for the board’s behavior in a statement issued after last week’s special meeting. Rooks said she had a responsibility to secure an investigation into alleged mandated reporting failures.
Horne stressed in a press release that Arizona has “zero tolerance” for failing on mandated reporting.
“I am deeply concerned about the events occurring on the Peoria district board. It is absolutely crucial that every school be transparent with the public about what happens in schools,” said Horne. “There should be zero tolerance for people who don’t live up to their duty to report misconduct. In recent months, the State Board of Education, where I am a voting member, has disciplined educators for that kind of failure.”
Beyond the problems at PUSD, Horne said he’s observed a rising trend of school employees maltreating children.
“There seems to be a terrible trend of school employees being accused of egregious breaches of conduct, including sexual activities with children. This is completely unacceptable and schools must do everything possible to ensure the safety of children,” said Horne. “The exploitation of a child by anyone, but especially an educator or other school employee, is an unfathomable breach of trust and cannot be tolerated.”
Horne included a reminder in his press release that the State Board of Education retains jurisdiction over disciplinary matters concerning educators and school personnel, while hiring decisions remain under the purview of local districts or charters.
Anyone with information about grooming or sexual abuse of students within PUSD are encouraged to contact Peoria Police Department investigators at their tip line: 623-773-8132.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Tiffany Benson | May 12, 2026 | Opinion
By Tiffany Benson |
Most Arizonans are likely aware of the coup d’état to unseat Heather Rooks from the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) board president position. Board members Becky Proudfit and Melissa Ewing requested the special meeting on May 5, 2026, with approval from superintendent Dr. KC Somers, and a guaranteed vote from board member Jeff Tobey. As I said in my recent Substack, Tobey would not have been elected to the board without Rooks’ help.
For those unaware of the backstory: two Centennial High School teachers, Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka, were credibly accused of sexually exploiting and abusing their students. What the public doesn’t know is the extent of Centennial High School principal Scott Hollabaugh’s knowledge of these alleged crimes. The 200-page Peoria Police report reveals Hollabaugh had “spoken to Beck” about student complaints of inappropriate behavior on campus.
Rooks sought an investigation into Hollabaugh’s potential failure to act as a mandated reporter pursuant to A.R.S. 13-3620. Arizona laws should have compelled Hollabaugh to report Beck to authorities, even in good faith. At the very least, an internal district investigation into both teachers’ actions should have been conducted to determine if children were safe around them. Instead, Beck and Burlaka remained in their classrooms.
PUSD leaders mistake the public for fools. They expect us to believe all the kids at Centennial knew about Beck’s alleged sexual relationship with a student, but all the adults in the school were too dumb to pick up on it. The progressive majority school board also wants parents to “wait and see” the results of pending investigations. However, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed to Rooks that they were not looking into mandated reporting violations.
During the April 23, 2026, board meeting, Tobey, Proudfit, and Ewing voted against an independent third-party investigation into Hollabaugh’s conduct, as well as all other employees who stayed silent. In regard to unseating Rooks, the progressive majority claimed they had “heard from so many in the community” that she was unfit to be board president. Rooks was elected by over 40,000 Peoria residents. So, unless Curly, Larry, and Moe are sitting on 40,000 emails, they didn’t hear from a majority of anybody. They acquiesced to the demands of teachers’ unions and certain turncoat Legislative District leaders.
The angle no one is talking about is how cover-up culture also marks the career of Dr. Somers. Before coming to PUSD, Somers was the superintendent of Lewis-Palmer School District 38 (LPSD) in Monument, Colorado, serving roughly from July 2019 to April 2024. During that time, students from Palmer Ridge High School accused the district of failing to act when a star athlete named Anthony Roberson allegedly harassed and sexually assaulted several female students without consequence. The alleged crimes reportedly took place between 2016 and 2020 when Roberson attended Palmer Ridge.
A former Palmer Ridge student named Jenna Baker started a Change.org petition that said, “Because of the allegations…it seems [Roberson] was pressured to graduate early instead of facing expulsion or exposure. The admin at the time gave him this choice as an easy way out. Justice was never served for his behavior.” The petition garnered over 5,700 signatures as it circulated among CU Boulder students who had attended high school with Roberson and were facing four more years with him at the college.
According to Fox 21 News, Baker came forward and “accused the school district of negligence and ignoring a litany of sexual assault and harassment reports filed by students.” During the April 17, 2023, LPSD school board meeting, Baker answered a call to the public and stated, in part:
“I was sexually assaulted at 15 years old by another [Palmer Ridge] student and still suffer from PTSD to this day, despite the fact [Palmer Ridge] was made aware of the student and at least five other sexual predators at large in the district in 2022. And no consequences were ever implemented, telling my parents the same thing they always tell victims, ‘It’s my word against his.'”
Shortly after Baker’s speech, Somers told LPSD board members that he was “looking forward to continuing the good work that’s in front of us and maintaining our focus on what’s most important.” He then read a prepared statement where he claimed to “stand wholeheartedly opposed to all forms of misconduct of a sexual nature, and take all reports of student and potentially staff misconduct seriously.”
Although some alleged sex crimes predate Somers’ time in LPSD, he was superintendent during the timeframe when Baker accused district administrators of allowing Roberson to quietly graduate early. Roberson was supposedly investigated by local law enforcement, but the allegations never led to formal charges. I found no record of LPSD conducting an internal investigation to know whether sex crimes had taken place on campus.
In light of all the controversy and contradictions, Somers popped up in Peoria and is now working with Tobey, Proudfit, and Ewing to silence the outcries and control the narratives surrounding Beck, Burlaka, and Hollabaugh. Now that his “good work” is almost finished in PUSD, Somers will soon be heading back to Colorado to serve as superintendent of the Eagle County School District. I hope those families know what kind of “leadership” is headed their way.
When Peoria High School basketball coach Patrick Battillo (Mr. ORNG) was arrested for child sex crimes, a teacher named Holly Holgate—who had been in the district for 20 years—tipped him off before police arrived to make an arrest. Battillo recently pled guilty to three counts of attempted exploitation of a minor but only received a three and half year prison sentence. I did not find court records showing Holgate was prosecuted for any crime.
Now do you understand why Rooks didn’t want to “wait and see” what happens with the other open investigations? Do you see why Hollabaugh should be placed on administrative leave until all investigations are concluded? Is it possible police investigators missed something during their initial interviews? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you know Rooks was well within her First Amendment right as a mother, taxpayer, and resident to insist on an investigation into mandated reporter violations—and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office gave her the green light.
Rooks’ inquiry does not interfere with any other open investigation even though the three progressive board members are trying to make people think it does. At the same time Rooks is being accused of political grandstanding, it’s Tobey, Proudfit and Ewing who turned grooming and sexual assault into political theatre. Whatever Rooks’ aspirations or motivations may be, they are irrelevant to the fact that she’s trying to increase student safety on campus…which is one of the pillars Tobey ran on in 2024.
For the record, nobody has to follow any directives given by Tobey, Proudfit, Ewing, or Somers. Their positions and authority were given to them by voters, and they can be taken away by voters. If parents, including Rooks, want an investigation into mandated reporting violations, they should be able to submit a request without retaliation. The U.S. Constitution is higher than any district policy, and holding public office does not equate to a forfeiture of constitutional rights.
Aesthetics only matter to people who have something to hide. Those of us who put children’s wellbeing first don’t care how much money it costs, how much time it takes, or how much damage is done to the district’s reputation. We want all sexual predators, and all their accomplices, off the payroll and locked up.
Witnesses and victims of Beck and Burlaka are encouraged to contact the Peoria Police tip line. Anyone can also sign the Change.org petition calling for a full child safety investigation into PUSD.
Tiffany Benson is the founder of Restore Parental Rights in Education and host of The Myth of Education Podcast. Her commentaries on public education and Christian faith can be viewed at Parentspayattention.com and Bigviewsmallwindow.com. All views and opinions expressed by Tiffany are her own.
by Staff Reporter | May 7, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) retained a new governing board president following a charged special meeting on Tuesday night.
Former governing board president Heather Rooks lasted five months into her second elected term. Rooks was removed over what a majority on the board alleged was an undermining of their credibility and integrity involving a criminal investigation referral.
The board majority argued that Rooks defied the board’s authority in multiple ways, most recently by requesting the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office investigate Centennial High School officials for mandatory reporting violations in connection to the ongoing criminal cases involving former teachers Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka.
Beck and Burlaka face charges for the alleged sexual abuse of at least one student, though investigators have indicated in recent weeks that the victim pool may be bigger.
The board voted to delay a decision on launching a third-party, internal investigation due to other ongoing investigations by law enforcement. That would make the seventh investigation on the matter.
Also cited as a grievance by the board majority was Rooks’ media interviews in which she expressed criticisms of school administration over the handling of sexual abuse complaints. Rooks alleged the existence of “red flags” known to school administrators, something which has not been declared or proven by investigators.
The board voted 3-2 to replace Rooks with Jeff Tobey. Rooks and board member Janelle Bowles voted against Rooks’ ouster and spoke at length in Rooks’ defense.
Public comment ran for nearly an hour. Over 20 speakers showed up; slightly more speakers wanted to see Rooks replaced, while the remainder defended Rooks.
Rooks has maintained that she filed the internal investigation request in her capacity as a parent, not the board president. Rooks also claimed that her removal constituted retaliation over her speech.
“From a legal standpoint, when protected speech is followed by an adverse action and there is a causal connection between the two, it raises legitimate First Amendment concerns, including potential retaliation,” said Rooks. “If raising concerns about student safety and compliance leads to the removal from leadership, it risks creating a chilling effect, not just for me but for anyone who would otherwise speak up.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s investigatory efforts into high school officials were underway well prior to Rooks’ request. Peoria police have already stated publicly that they don’t plan to file any charges for mandatory reporting failures.
Ewing accused Rooks of undermining the board on its decision to wait for officials to conclude their own investigations into the matter. Ewing said Rooks was advancing theories and claims without evidence, something she said could risk harming prosecution efforts against the two teachers. This was a talking point that echoed throughout public comment advocating for Rooks’ ouster.
“She is advancing a narrative based on belief rather than evidence, despite her direct knowledge of interviews, investigative steps, and findings discussed in multiple executive sessions,” said Ewing.
Though critical, Tobey and Board Member Becky Proudfit had kinder words for Rooks. Proudfit said Rooks had PUSD students’ best interests at heart, but that intent didn’t justify her actions.
Tobey expressed support for Rooks’ freedom of speech generally but clarified that he was “disappointed” in her actions because they reflected her “opinions” and not the facts of the cases.
“I’ve learned the hard way that parallel investigations can interfere with one another,” said Tobey. “I don’t want to give any alleged pedophile any chance or upper hand in trial.”
Rooks accused the Arizona Education Association of coordinating the special meeting that resulted in her removal.
“Peoria School Board Members will vote tomorrow on a new President because the Arizona Teacher Union is calling for me to be removed as President,” said Rooks.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
