The Peoria Unified Governing Board removed board member Heather Rooks as president on May 5 after she went public alleging a “cover-up” of how the school district handled sexual misconduct allegations. Two former Centennial High teachers, Haley Beck, 27, and Angela Burlaka, 47, were accused of grooming and having sexual relationships with the same underage student. Three of the board members voted to oust Rooks, while Rooks and Janelle Bowles voted against removal.
“After witnessing the events of this week, I am ashamed of the behavior of the majority of the Peoria Unified Governing Board,” Rooks said in a statement. “They chose to punish me for calling out alleged failures to comply with Arizona’s mandatory reporting laws connected to serious allegations of grooming, sexual misconduct, and the sexual abuse of students at the hands of Centennial High School teachers Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka.”
Pam Kirby, founder and president of the Arizona Coalition of School Board Members, contrasted the removal with a situation in Tennessee where a school board member who hugged and flirted with a teenager was not removed. “Now THIS is a reason for a board to take action against one of their own,” she posted on X. “But here in AZ, when a board member wants a 3rd party investigation to address sexual abuse of students, she gets removed as President by her colleagues.”
In another post, Kirby said, “The teachers union is closing ranks to protect their own in this failure to report scandal. Teachers are mandatory reporters.” The Arizona Education Association (AEA) is the largest teachers union in the state. A petition was posted on their site demanding a governing board meeting to remove Rooks, declaring that she was “circumventing the majority vote of the governing board” by filing the request with the county attorney directly and by “publicly disparaging” district employees.
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