Peoria Unified School District residents are casting ballots for governing board positions nearly one year after a scandal that grabbed headlines and divided the members of the board.
Early ballots were sent out on Oct. 7. Incumbents Heather Rooks and Melissa Ewing will compete against newcomer Desiree Byrne for two seats on the board.
The election comes as the board is continuing to face the fallout from an investigation into two former Centennial High School teachers who were accused of having separate inappropriate relationships with the same student. As a result, the board has become increasingly divided over how the district handled the investigation and the publicity that came with it.
Here's what to know about the district's Centennial scandal,
and where the candidates stand.
What happened at Peoria Unified's Centennial High School?
Former teachers Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka were investigated beginning in 2025 over allegations that they separately had a sexual relationship with the same student. According to police, Burlaka was found to have sent explicit videos to the student. Although the student was 18 at the time of the investigation, records show his relationship with Beck began when he was still a minor.
Beck is the sister of influencer Noah Beck, further propelling the story into tabloids across the country.
The fallout from the investigation had a ripple effect to district leadership. Former Centennial principal Scott Hollabaugh announced his departure from the district in May, while two assistant principals resigned in June. Former district superintendent K.C. Somers announced his departure in February.
Previous interim superintendent Ryan LaDouceur later publicly alleged that he was coerced into stepping down, with the board then voting to appoint Tayla Visintainer, then chief human resources officer for the district.
Fallout reaches leadership of Peoria Unified's governing board
Earlier this year,Rooks was unseated from her role as school board president by three of her fellow board members when she spoke to The Republic to criticize the district’s handling of the investigation, showing a rupture between her and board member Becky Proudfit. Rooks called for a third-party investigation, while Proudfit claimed Rooks violated the board’s due process by submitting a request for the Maricopa County Attorney General’s Office to look into how the district handled mandatory reporting.
At the time, Rooks said that she was acting as a Peoria parent with children in the district, and not as the governing board president. The meeting to remove Rooks as the president was initiated by Proudfit and Ewing. Rooks and board member Janelle Bowles — who are frequently aligned in their votes — opposed the measure. Jeff Tobey replaced Rooks as board president, eventually beginning a rupture between him and Rooks that trickled into subsequent board discussions
Two weeks after Rooks was ousted as governing board president, the board found itself at odds again over the resignation of LaDouceur, who claimed he was coerced into stepping down from his role as interim superintendent. Rooks and Bowles both put out statements ahead of the meeting, criticizing the board for holding a special meeting at 11 a.m. on a weekday.
Rooks also claimed there was a conflict of interest because of Visintainer’s involvement in the Centennial investigation. Rooks and Bowles both voted together against approving LaDouceur’s withdrawal from the position and Visintainer’s appointment to interim superintendent.
Rooks was particularly vocal about her stance regarding mandatory reporting laws and criticizing the district's handling of the case.She has requested the district waive attorney-client privileges, which protects communication between a lawyer and a client, to avoid what she calls unnecessary costs and delays.
"I just don't know why no one else is not freaking out more. By having two search warrants and a district raid — that is just not something that happens in your school district," Rooks said. "That's not supposed to happen."
While the Centennial situation has brought attention to the district, Ewing said the district also garnered media attention when she ran for school board following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ewing said that, while the negative news gets more attention in the media and on social media, the district also has plenty of positive things happening within it. Even the enrollment at Centennial has stayed strong because of the school's academic program, Ewing said.
"We have students making incredible strides and achievements. We have staff who are doing incredible things," Ewing said.
Ewing said she worries about the Centennial community's ability to move on while the scandal remains in the news and at the forefront.
"We need to be building strong schools, and we need to be building schools that our kids deserve, and that are focused on academics, and that are focused on putting the supports in place so they can be successful," Ewing said.
Byrne said that the division on the board was "inevitable" when Rooks was ousted from her position as board president. Byrne said she has no issue with Rooks' call for a third-party investigation, saying that the safety of children is not political.
Despite the criticism that could come with being on a tumultuous board, Byrne said she was motivated to run by having 11 educators in her family and watching their sacrifices be overshadowed by a lack of support from higher up in the district.
Natalee Sticht previously expressed interest in running for the seat but later withdrew her candidacy.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Where Peoria school candidates stand on district's teacher sex scandal
