Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) has approved an application for expansion of federally-funded mental health clinics to seven schools. Board member Heather Rooks was the sole “no” vote on the measure.
The funds are part of a five-year award with the Mental Health Service Professionals (MHSP) Demonstration Grant through the Department of Education (ED).
PUSD was one of 27 school districts nationwide to receive MHSP grant funding originally in 2019. Through that grant, expiring at the end of September, PUSD has maintained three social work field instructors. This new round of funding will maintain and expand the mental health services to those schools without them.
The 2019 MHSP grant funded partnerships with the internship pipelines in Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon University, and Arizona State University; social work intern field instructors; training for school social workers and school mental health counselors; conference attendance; training school social worker interns (totalling 83); training for teachers, staff, and administrators; purchasing of skill building materials and resources; and parental resources. All of these would be funded through the 2024 grant to a greater degree to include those schools without MHSP resources.
The district’s seven schools, which represent 24 percent of the student population, that don’t have direct mental health services are: Cactus High School, Liberty High School, Oakwood Elementary School, Sunset Heights Elementary School, Frontier Elementary School, and Vistancia Elementary School.
Across these schools, the district reported in its grant narrative draft elementary students exhibiting greater instances of self-harming behaviors, suicidal ideation, anxiety, depression, aggression, bullying, cyberbullying, poor relationship skills, and poor conflict resolution skills. High school students were reportedly exhibiting similar behaviors, including a handful of suicides and attempted suicides in the last school year.
In that school year, the district reported just over 1,200 “crises events” that required intervention: suicide risks, child abuse or neglect, or severe emotional distress.
The district has about 34,700 students across 43 schools, with about 47 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunch. PUSD is the fourth-largest district in the state.
Public comment against the measure expressed concerns about student safety, such as data mining and “lab rat” handling of the students. Some wondered why the district would offer such a private service that they considered to be a parental responsibility.
A supporter of the measure, Vanessa Goolsby with the Peoria Education Association, said that it was the social workers that prevented the “bad things” from happening to children.
The board defended the expansion of social workers as a much-needed resource.
Melissa Ewing said that concerned community members were confusing the mental health services provided by schools and the medical community. Ewing said the former isn’t comprehensive, in that the district doesn’t staff doctors, provide diagnoses, or prescribe medications.
Ewing stressed that social work intervention doesn’t occur without parental consent, and that the data supports social work intervention as effective in improving academic performance.
David Sandoval said the expansion of services was needed due to the rise in mental health issues.
Board member Bill Sorensen said that the social workers have done good work for children in need beyond mental health services.
Rooks expressed concern that the district was taking on mental health cases instead of referring families to outside providers, and contested that some diagnoses must be happening for the district to be able to report identifying certain behavioral problems.
Rooks said that State Representative Beverly Pingerelli, a former board member, described the initial MHSP grant from 2019 as part of a much smaller initiative that, she says, has grown way out of proportion. She also contested the claim that the social workers operate under parental permission, noting that one parent’s son had been pulled numerous times from classes to discuss his mental health with a social worker — without parental consent — despite undergoing outside treatment arranged by his parents.
President Becky Proudfit said that she trusted the district social workers to provide healthy and safe services to students, and that her own children have benefited from them.
Watch the PUSD discussion of the MHSP grant here:
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I’ve looked in the face of many disappointed residents who told me they moved to the West Valley so their children could be educated in Peoria Unified School District (PUSD). To say these families are experiencing buyer’s remorse is an understatement. One wouldn’t have to search beyond PUSD’s current administration to grasp why the district is on a path of destruction.
For readers unaware, PUSD basketball coach and volunteer teacher Patrick Battillo—better known by his fanatic alter ego, Mr. ORNG—was recently arrested on allegations of soliciting lewd photos and videos from students with intentions to sell the images. Teacher Holly Holgate further betrayed the victims by tipping off Battillo after they came to her for help. Battillo, who pleaded not guilty to luring a minor for sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, was reportedly employed by PUSD for five years. Holgate, who’s charged with hindering prosecution and failure to report child abuse, has been employed for over 20 years.
Although the PUSD Governing Board voted unanimously to fire Battillo during the April 25, 2024, board meeting, it’s hard to imagine this wasn’t solely in response to public pressure. I say this because the NAACP descended upon PUSD at the April 11 board meeting. Not to mention press organizations have been crawling all over the district since Battillo and Holgate made headlines.
It’s no secret that Battillo replaced former employee William Roberts III, who was also charged with and pleaded not guilty to sex crimes against PUSD students. Unlike Battillo, Roberts was allowed to resign amid the controversy. Then, Roberts was acquitted after claiming he only had sex with a student after their 18th birthday. Battillo’s victims are said to be 17 and under. What are the odds that two men, who occupied the same role, were accused of sexually abusing students?
Board Member Heather Rooks formally apologized to the victims and their families. She also requested (but was not seconded) to have a closed discussion on why the principal of Peoria High School—where Battillo and Holgate worked—was quietly placed on paid administrative leave following the incident. Could it be PUSD is looking for someone to blame instead of owning its repeated failures to protect students from pedophiles on their payroll? Seriously, how many staff members knew something was “off” about Battillo, Holgate, and Roberts but an investigation was never launched? And where is the district sourcing its pool of applicants anyway?
Another red flag was raised when acting superintendent Kevin Molino unveiled 3D sketches of bathroom remodels for Cactus High School and Ironwood High School. Where there were once doors, there are no doors. Where there was once privacy, there is less privacy. Where there was once a clear distinction of boys’ and girls’ spaces, the district has revealed phase one compliance with the Biden administration’s illegal Title IX rewrite and the corrupt Ninth Circuit ruling.
Now you see doors:
Now you don’t:
Did you catch that urinals were removed from the boys’ bathrooms? Unless you’re going to allow girls inside, why would you eliminate that feature? There are also oversized service closets where a single-use bathroom should be, specifically for students who reject binary reality. In order to uphold the Department of Education’s erroneous interpretation of “sex” to mean “gender identity,” I wouldn’t be surprised if PUSD secretly plans to replace urinals with Tampon dispensers.
In PUSD’s current climate of sexual abuse, administrators are smart enough to sidestep any discussion on the dangers of transgender practices that leave female students vulnerable. So, the district’s official position is that the restrooms are being updated for “increased ADA accessibility” and “increased visibility and monitoring.”
During the April 25 board meeting, there was much talk about bullying, vaping, drugs, and fighting that allegedly reinforced the need for less privacy in school bathrooms. When I suggested disciplining problematic students before they enter closed spaces, Board Member Bill Sorenson said he didn’t agree with “targeting” students who are known to have behavior issues. This is typical, passive, “social emotional” language from Sorenson…whenever he cares to comment.
So, rather than enforce proper codes of conduct, the district’s solution is to have adults watch students go to the bathroom from the hallway. If this doesn’t make any sense to you, then you simply don’t know how to think like a leftist.
After attending the Listen, Learn & Lead event for the incoming superintendent, I was further convinced of how expendable PUSD constituents are to the district. During the breakout session, my table had the pleasure of hosting the presence of Chief Personnel Officer Laura Vesely. I held my tongue and conversations were all polite until a resident asked why “Community” was at the top of Molino’s updated organization chart, when it’s obvious the district doesn’t acknowledge concerns from the majority of the community.
Vesely said that “Community” was only at the top because they elect governing board members. Essentially, no other community input is required to run a school district. Consequently, when the same resident asked about Title IX compliance—and I finally spoke up to clarify that “sex” means biology, not gender identity—Vesely quickly shut down the conversation, stating that she, and the public relations representative at the table, weren’t responsible for answering those questions.
Well, I suppose PUSD constituents should just be grateful that rogue, unelected administrators are even letting them in on the discussion. Bless the voters’ hearts.
The last red flag I’ll mention is the district’s prejudice against Christians. Not only was Board Member Rooks censured for reading Scripture during her board comments, Board Member David Sandoval is inclined to outright discriminate against Christian students. Just like the extremists in a neighboring district, PUSD has shown a willingness to violate the First Amendment and, now, the 1984 Equal Access Act, which grants students (of any faith) the right to exercise religious freedoms on school campuses.
Sandoval’s statements were made during a podcast hosted by secularist Jeanne Casteen, who’s engaged in an imaginary fight against “the growing threat of white Christian nationalism in our state and our country.” Casteen is concerned about tax dollars funding religion in public schools. Notably, Christianity was the only objectionable religion throughout the discussion.
By Sandoval’s and Casteen’s logic, all government institutions that teach secular humanistic doctrines—such as evolution, climate change, and social justice—should be defunded. And perhaps Casteen is ignorant of the fact that her godless religion is protected under the First Amendment, and her belief system currently dominates every sphere of public education.
I’m glad to hear students are leaving PUSD. I hope enrollment continues to decrease as families take advantage of every opportunity to exercise their rights. As for the parents who can’t or won’t utilize alternative education, you need to show up for more than sporting events. The board members you elected, and the advocates you see in the boardroom and hear on the microphone every two weeks, are burning out fighting for your children.
Public education will never “get better.” I encourage every conservative, independent, and common-sense parent and teacher to find their voice, speak up, and take action before it’s too late.
Tiffany is the Founder of Restore Parental Rights in Education, a grassroots advocate for families, educators, and school board members. For nearly two decades, Tiffany’s creative writing pursuits have surpassed most interests as she continues to contribute to her blog Bigviewsmallwindow.com. She encourages everyday citizens to take an active role in defending and preserving American values for future generations.
Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) parents expressed their displeasure over plans to reduce the privacy in several high schools’ bathrooms during this week’s regular board meeting.
The district is planning to remodel one set of male and female restrooms at Cactus High School and Ironwood High School, with the main goals of providing clearer visibility into the restrooms and increasing ADA compliance.
In presenting the proposed plans, Acting Superintendent Kevin Molino explained that students felt uncomfortable with other students using the bathrooms as private hangout spots.
“As we gather feedback, we’ll find a balance between privacy and safety,” said Moleno.
In order to remedy this, the entrances to the new bathrooms would provide a direct line of sight into the main gathering space between the sinks on one wall and the private bathroom stalls on the other.
Corky Haynes, a community member, expressed concern that the students’ privacy wouldn’t be respected — especially the girls.
Teddy Todd, another community member, asked that there be more privacy given to the girls’ restrooms: a narrower entryway view, and a wider and taller divider for the sinks (for washing out garments). Todd also suggested adding doors to the urinals, and transforming the service closet into a private, lockable single-stall bathroom with a sink and the water tank closeted off.
Trina Berg, an Ironwood High School and Peoria Education Association (PEA) President, said that the increased visibility would make teachers’ jobs easier in managing students congregating in bathrooms. Currently, Berg says teachers either have to yell or go into the bathrooms to remove students.
“As a teacher, the restrooms are a big source of behavior issues, because our kids are congregating in there,” said Berg. “Yes, privacy is a thing, but the doors are there, they’re shut.”
Mikah Dyer, an Ironwood High School senior and PUSD board candidate, said that the proposed renovations would improve safety and usability.
“The number one problem I hear about bathrooms in Ironwood is the vaping that’s happening and the overcrowding that’s happening during passing periods during lunches,” said Dyer. “Teachers need accessibility and visibility.”
The proposed bathroom renovations include vape sensors in each stall.
Jeff Toby, a parent of three female PUSD students, said his daughters were uncomfortable with the proposal.
Tiffany Benson, a community member, expressed concern that the bathroom remodels were another step to ending gendered bathrooms. Benson also said that the schools needed to be more proactive in addressing the students who were repeat offenders for bad behaviors in the bathrooms.
Wendy Rose, mother of two current PUSD students, said that the female students she asked were uncomfortable with the lack of privacy in the bathrooms.
Christina, mother of two PUSD students, wondered at the lack of urinals and, like others, the lack of privacy presented by noise issues.
Board member Bill Sorensen said there needed to be a way of gathering more student feedback on the proposal before the district moves forward.
Board member Heather Rooks objected to the policy as another alleged step toward getting rid of gendered spaces.
I will never comply with Biden administration trying to change Title 9 and take away privacy for girls in bathrooms! pic.twitter.com/oYTtxMeujH
— Heather Rooks The Peoria Mom (@ThePeoriaMom) April 26, 2024
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Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) parents and community members urged greater action from their district during last week’s board meeting after the arrest of a prominent basketball coach for child sex abuse.
The coach, 37-year-old Patrick Battillo, known by his superfan alias, “Mr. ORNG,” was arrested last week for soliciting minors for sexual content. The school where Battillo coached, Peoria High School, had run a background check on him prior to his coming on board.
Parental concerns have been on the rise due to the constant news of other educators arrested for child sex abuse outside the district over the past year, as well as the steady stream of Arizona State Board of Education cases involving sexual misconduct.
Last month, 53-year-old Estevan Carreon with Glendale Union High School District’s Independence High School, was arrested after secretly recording students while they undressed. Over the course of seven months, three female educators in various Buckeye schools were arrested for inappropriate contact with minors: 23-year-old Alyssa Todd, 42-year-old Jessica Kramer, and 24-year-old Diana Pirvu.
In January, 35-year-old Daniel Pineda with Dream City Christian School in Glendale was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a student.
Last week’s extensive community participation with PUSD was due in part to a call to action by SMART Schools, a subsidiary of the conservative activist group Arizona Women of Action. In a press release, the organization urged involvement to increase student safety.
Tamra Farah, SMART Families Network Director, urged the board to find ways to heighten collective vigilance to safeguard the students. Farah reminded the board that another educator, Erin Quigley, had agreed to the suspension of his teaching certification amid allegations of grooming and possibly sexually abusing students.
Rachel Barnett — Littleton Elementary School District board member, Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) Black Alliance Officer, secretary of the NAACP, and former PUSD employee and mother — said that she wasn’t at all surprised by child sex abuse cases coming out of PUSD due to its standard for handling reporting of such cases.
Barnett said that a female senior student at Peoria High School urged her to speak at last week’s meeting. She said that PUSD had a “startling history of covering up abuse,” citing a practice of barring teachers who contact the Department of Child Services (DCS) and law enforcement from testifying in court, let alone admitting they were the ones who reported the abuse to DCS.
“It troubles me to say that I am not at all surprised to hear what’s presently unfolding in this district,” said Barnett.
Barnett further alleged that administrators weren’t notifying parents of the sexual abuse cases. PUSD Board President Becky Proudfit directed several members of the board to follow up with Barnett.
Dr. Tara Armstead, former member of the Arizona Department of Education’s African American Advisory Council and former Litchfield Elementary School District board member, said that background checks weren’t enough to catch predators. Armstead encouraged the board to listen more to the students.
Seak Smith — founder and president of The Mom Army, a child advocacy organization — urged the district to recognize the child sex abuse incidents as part of a greater pandemic.
“We need to understand that predators and pedophiles go where they can have access to children, and we have to do better to safeguard children and protect them from predators,” said Smith.
Mark Del Maestro, a Vietnam War veteran, said that pedophiles like those arrested recently were “Satan’s marionettes.” Del Maestro compared the rising rates of child sex abuse to the rampant molestation in war-torn Vietnam.
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A retired educator once told me, “Parents don’t have rights, they have responsibilities.” Considering this viewpoint alongside the comment below, I can’t find any context in which these statements are appropriate.
In the same vein, former state Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what to teach.” Not to mention, the National School Board Association incited FBI Director Merrick Garland to declare war against parents.
In light of all the anti-parental rights sentiments infecting our education system, I declare:
Children are an inheritance, a reward, and a gift from God (Ps. 127:3). Therefore, they belong to their parents/guardians, not government employees. If your beliefs run contrary to this truth, then the following commentary was written with you in mind.
Two incidents lead to my discussion on parental rights in education. The first involves backlash I received after posting this flier in a parent group on social media:
Group members were appalled that I used the page to inform parents of their right to choose how their children are educated. One said, “I wonder what teachers would think?” Another member incoherently stated that teachers were being “used as political pons.” (I think she meant “pawns,” but we’ll blame public education for the error). The elementary shoving match in the comment section revealed that my primary opponent was, in fact, a teacher.
I was pitifully accused of being a “political operative” and called out for not focusing on strengthening relationships in the district. Never mind that I’m one of five people willing to attend board meetings. I’m also willing to find common ground with opposing leaders to improve academic success and student safety.
Our Parental Bill of Rights is one radical majority vote away from destruction. So, if giving parents options to circumvent government schools triggers you, then you’re part of the problem.
The second incident occurred on January 25, 2024, when teacher and Peoria Education Association (PEA) President, Trina Berg, requested public comments be moved to the end of the board meeting. Berg stated:
“My request is that we consider, and you have a discussion, and vote on moving public comments to the end of the board meeting. The reason why is because we have business we have to do. And I would appreciate it if we actually came in and did our business first … People still have the ability to speak on whatever they want, but it’s when business is done.”
Wouldn’t you know that public comments were relocated from position 5.1 to position 9.1 at the February 8 board meeting. Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) Board President Rebecca Proudfit — appointed by the financially compromised Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson — led the charge in compliance with Berg’s request.
When confronted about moving the comments, Proudfit claimed some teachers were uncomfortable with the atmosphere at PUSD board meetings. She also said the results of a survey — somehow received by educators but missed by parents — favored changing the meeting format. When pressed further about the timing of her decision, Proudfit said, “[Berg] did email me afterwards to say thank you … But I swear I wouldn’t do anything like that just because someone asked me to do it.”
Bear in mind, this is the same Trina Berg who staged an illegal sick out in defiance of the board’s decision to resume in-person learning after the 2020 winter break. District emails reveal that Berg and her co-conspirator, PEA Treasurer Jessica Batty (also a teacher), planned the union-backed catastrophe. At one point, Berg wrote, “[W]e are trying to show that this decision was especially dumb for retention.”
Berg’s shenanigans — which resulted in the closure of 13 schools — disrupted academic progress and left parents without childcare. So, why wasn’t this activist, posing as a teacher, fired?
The statement, “Teachers are not the primary stakeholders in public education,” is true contractually and financially. This is why teachers’ unions exist. Of course, educators typically have children, own property, and pay taxes in their district. But from a business standpoint, certified staff members do not hold revenue-generating positions — they are paid to provide a community service. For clarification: parents (and constituents) are patrons, students are beneficiaries, teachers are public servants.
Without parents and students, teachers wouldn’t have jobs.
When it comes to directing a child’s education, the law clearly identifies parents as the experts. And whether we consider parents “good” or “bad,” their rights are protected under the United States Constitution. The place of a teacher is to transfer knowledge, not propaganda, and foster an environment that’s conducive to learning, not excessive self-expression.
Communist dictator Vladimir Lenin — the man history deems responsible for the death of 10 million people — is credited with saying, “Give me just one generation of youth, and I’ll transform the whole world.” This is the ideological framework of someone who aims to incite rebellion and break family bonds. I implore leftist educators to reject radical approaches to instruction, abandon hypercritical theories, and, instead, work to form an alliance with parents/guardians.
Finally, I commend sensible and honorable educators who practice transparency, partner with families, and build strong support networks for their students. You are the teachers we can entrust with our youth. Now more than ever, your skills and compassion are needed to shape young minds for the betterment of society and secure the future of our nation.
Tiffany Benson is the Founder of Restore Parental Rights in Education, a grassroots advocate for families, educators, and school board members. For nearly two decades, Tiffany’s creative writing pursuits have surpassed most interests as she continues to contribute to her blog Bigviewsmallwindow.com. She encourages everyday citizens to take an active role in defending and preserving American values for future generations.
