Peoria Unified Governing Board reports possible confidential information breach

The Peoria Unified School District Governing Board voted 3-2 last week to report allegations to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office that a member shared confidential information with a reporter.

The board did not initially name the person accused of the leak, but member Heather Rooks came forward to defend herself when the issue was brought up during Thursday’s meeting.

Rooks said the interview in question was a Sept. 22 segment with 12News in which she criticized the district’s response to a teacher sex scandal at Centennial High School, particularly regarding transparency.

“I did not disclose confidential executive session discussions during my interview. I discussed my opinion on the district’s handling of this Centennial investigation. I expressed my concerns about accountability, and I had questions as a board member,” she said.

Board President Jeff Tobey said the facts would speak for themselves.

“I don’t believe it’s our role to determine any final verdict on this. However, there are enough questions to refer this topic to the Attorney General’s Office, which is the appropriate investigating authority. Transparency means holding ourselves to the same standards we expect of others,” he said.

Rooks said she was blindsided by the accusation.

“This matter was not included in the pre-agenda Friday report and was added last-minute. … From my perspective, the timing and the lack of advance information makes this look like an organized effort by President Tobey to ambush me rather than a fair opportunity to address a clearly stated concern,” she said.

Rooks walked out of the meeting after the vote to refer the issue to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Peoria Unified rocked by teacher sex scandal

The Peoria Unified Governing Board has been engaging in infighting for months over allegations that former Centennial High School teachers Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka had inappropriate relationships with a male student. Both were fired earlier this year and are under criminal investigation.

Rooks, who was board president before her colleagues demoted her, has said she believes the district is trying to cover up a failure to follow mandatory reporting laws, saying that students and teachers were aware of the situation before police became involved.

Tobey, who was elevated to replace Rooks in May, said the district is providing police with all the information they need, but there are still federally protected data and attorney-client privilege issues preventing the district from releasing all the details of the case.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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