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.
Governor Katie Hobbs has a rare opportunity to do something with the overwhelming support of her citizens, and that would make her a groundbreaker. She could become the first female governor to sign the Women’s Bill of Rights.
This shouldn’t take courage. This legislation, which was just passed by the Arizona state house, defines words like “woman” and “female” so when it comes to laws that use these words, we can all speak a common language. The bill also declares the state’s important interest in preserving female-only spaces and opportunities when privacy, safety, or fairness are implicated. Importantly, this law doesn’t prevent policymakers or local leaders from deciding to allow trans-identifying individuals from being included in any arena, but it gives us a language so that there is truth in advertising, and we have the ability to reserve some spaces and opportunities just for women.
We both know personally why this is so important.
I, Paula Scanlan, was a teammate of Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania. Governor Hobbs, you’ve undoubtedly heard about how Lia Thomas – formerly Will Thomas when he competed on the men’s team – took competition spots, won titles, and smashed female records from female swimmers like me. But perhaps you haven’t heard about what it was like to have to share a locker room with him. As a sexual assault survivor, I was forced to change next time him, and have him undress just a few feet away from me, often several times a day. When I tried to tell administrators that I was uncomfortable sharing such private spaces with fully intact men, they told me I should get counseling, that I shouldn’t complain, and that they didn’t care about how this felt to me or the other women on my team.
I, Christy Narsi, serve as a chapter leader for Independent Women’s Network in Phoenix, and I hear daily from moms who are concerned about the message that we are sending our daughters today. We hear of mothers who are concerned about their daughters’ safety when they are forced to face bigger, stronger male-bodied athletes on the athletic fields. My colleague, Payton McNabb, had to face a male volleyball player on the court when she was a junior in high school. He spiked the ball in her face so hard that she had a serious concussion and brain injury. More than two years later, she still has partial paralysis. Why are women and girls’ safety concerns being brushed aside? Why is it that women and girls are being told that they need to step aside, that their dreams and aspirations don’t matter and have to be sacrificed for male-bodied athletes who want to join the women’s teams?
Governor Hobbs, as I’m sure you know, this is about more than just sport. Women’s rights—and the very concept of womanhood—are under assault as never before in history. Inmates in women’s prisons are being put at risk when they allow male prisoners—including violent sex offenders—into women’s prisons around the country. Men are entering female sororities, domestic violence shelters, and educational training programs that were created specifically to encourage women’s engagement.
Overwhelmingly Americans recognize that it isn’t fair to force women to compete against biological men. To back up this common sense is hard scientific data, like that outlined in the Competition Report, which shows that a human being who goes through male puberty, when testosterone levels rise by about 20 times, enjoys an irreversible advantage in strength and athletic power. Taking testosterone suppressors later in life doesn’t change that reality. Data shows that men have physical advantages—not just in terms of strength and speed but in lung capacity and how their hearts process blood—that are hard-wired in their bodies. This is why there are women’s leagues and competitions in the first place, and why it is simply dangerous and inhumane to have female inmates forced to share their spaces with men.
We are so grateful that Arizona’s state legislature decided to do something about it by passing this truth-in-advertising legislation. We hope that you will sign this bill into law and stand up for women’s rights in Arizona—and be a model for others across the nation.
Paula Scanlan is an ambassador with Independent Women’s Voice and a former swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania. Christy Narsi is the co-leader of the Independent Women’s Network Arizona Chapter, and is based in Surprise, AZ.
An Arizona lawmaker is taking action to protect women across the state.
This week, Senator Sine Kerr introduced SB 1628, the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights, which would “bring clarity and uniformity to state laws governing sex discrimination and equality of the sexes.”
The bill would define “sex” as a “person’s biological sex, either male or female, for all purposes of state law.” The proposal would also “preserve single-sex spaces to ensure girls’ and women’s safety and privacy in those spaces, while not changing current law or creating new restrictions on anyone’s legal rights.”
In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Senator Kerr said, “Laws should be based in objective reality and uniform for all Arizonans. Men and boys have been encroaching on girls’ and women’s private spaces, like locker rooms and showers, as well as sports teams, robbing women from athletic opportunities and putting them in danger as they face physically stronger males in competition. SB 1628 supports women and girls in their rights to privacy, fairness, and safety on the playing field.”
Kerr hosted a press conference at the Arizona Capitol to highlight her efforts. Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer and current Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador, was at the event to support Kerr’s legislation. During her time in collegiate athletics, Scanlan “was forced to share a locker room and compete with a trans-identifying male swimmer.”
Scanlan also released a statement to endorse the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights, writing, “I am happy to support the introduction of the Women’s Bill of Rights in Arizona. With more than 3.5 million women living in the state, this bill would have an incredible impact in providing scientifically-sound protections for women and their personal spaces. Having experienced firsthand the injustices of inviting males into women’s private areas and allowing them to steal athletic accolades from young ladies dedicating their lives to their chosen sports, I know the incredible importance of having legislation that stops these reckless new norms.”
Joining Kerr as co-sponsors of the bill were Senators Bennett, Bolick, Borrelli, Carroll, Gowan, Kavanagh, Mesnard, Petersen, Shamp, and Shope.
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council of Jewish Women for Arizona, Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, and the Human Rights Campaign registered their opposition to the legislation.
SB 1628 has been assigned to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and is expected to be heard next week.
“Girls and women deserve to be safe in the places where they are most vulnerable, and we have seen far too many examples of girls and women physically injured, relegated to the bench, and bumped off the winner’s podium by males competing as females,” added Senator Kerr.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
This week’s viral doorbell videos of a UPS driver fainting outside a Scottsdale home and a squadron of javelinas tearing up a newly landscaped yard in Oro Valley are just the latest example of what homeowners, renters, and business owners might see or hear recorded on their devices.
Many of those types of videos and audio recordings are shared on social media by the device owners, while frequently other recordings are voluntarily provided to law enforcement agencies in response to reports of nearby crimes and accidents.
But who actually owns the right to video and audio recorded by Amazon-owned doorbell company Ring, and who can release those files without a search warrant or permission of the person who owns the equipment? And what if the recording captures something a bit more, um, personal and private?
Those are some of the questions being discussed as members of Congress continue to debate the proposed Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act. The debate gained some momentum last week following Ring’s admission that company employees have shared video and/or audio recordings with law enforcement agencies without notification to the device owners.
The information about Ring’s activities became public courtesy of U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts). It shows that the company receives so many requests for video and audio recordings that it has now registered nearly 2,200 law enforcement agencies to better facilitate access.
The vast majority of the releases stem from court ordered search warrants and subpoenas which are normally shared with customers. However, Ring confirmed it has made 11 videos available this year to various law enforcement agencies without advising the device’s owner. The release was based on an “emergency circumstance exception,” according to the company.
The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would set parameters for the collection, storage, use, and third-party release of facial, voice and other biometric data. It would also allow for the withholding of certain federal monies from states and local governments which do not agree to follow the Act.
“As my ongoing investigation into Amazon illustrates, it has become increasingly difficult for the public to move, assemble and converse in public without being tracked and recorded,” Markey said in a statement.
The information released by Markey’s office noted most consumers are not aware Ring’s products typically have been set by default to record. This could result in private acts and conversations being recorded without the homeowner’s knowledge. Such information is then theoretically accessible by the company to share as they wish.
“We cannot accept this as inevitable in our country,” Markey said. “Increasing law enforcement reliance on private surveillance could become central to the growing web of surveillance systems that Amazon and other powerful tech companies are responsible for.”
There are identical bills currently assigned to committees in the U.S. Senate and House of Representative. Neither is co-sponsored by any of Arizona’s Congressional delegation.
