As the investigation continues into two former Centennial High educators, the Peoria Unified School governing board president spoke out against the backlash that the district has faced.
For about a year now, Peoria Police have been investigating two former educators from Centennial High School. The two former educators, Angela Burlaka and Haley Beck, are accused of sexual misconduct with the same student. The two are no longer with the district.
However, since the investigation began, fallout has happened with the West Valley school district and it’s drawn nationwide attention, as the sibling of Beck is a famous TikTok personality.
On Tuesday, board president Jeff Tobey spoke with the media, addressing the allegations and the handling of the investigation.
“There’s a lot of reach that I can have from the dais and voicing my thoughts as a representative of Peoria Unified from the dais,” he continued. “At this point in time, I think it’s important to reach more individuals that are in the community. This is a widespread issue, an issue of great concern and I want to be able to share what I can about it.”
When asked about the investigation into the district and Burlaka and Beck, Tobey said he couldn’t say much about it, as Peoria Police continue to actively investigate the claims.
“I know people want answers and people deserve answers. I feel like in due time, we will be able to provide some of those answers, but a lot of that rests with the investigators,” he said.
Peoria Police have served a couple search warrants at the district office relating to the investigation. Just two weeks ago, the district office was inaccessible for about a week as police conducted their search. At that time, the district sent out communication, saying they were “disappointed” by the department’s decision to execute a second warrant that closed the district operations for the day and the days ahead. Later that week, the district sent another media release, saying their concern was “never at the officers who serve and protect our schools and community."
Tobey said he had felt that first communication to the community that day was a “misstep,” and that the district was more disappointed with being unable to run the district.
“We have a long history with Peoria Police when it comes to our collaborations and our partnerships. I don't think it was ever the intention of the administration to say that,” Tobey continued. “As an organization, especially our size, we have to be self-correcting and self-assessing when it comes to these issues and I think the community expects that and they deserve that."
Since the investigation began, there’s been discourse amongst board members and leadership shakeups. The incoming superintendent had also left his position, and the district’s chief personnel officer was appointed to temporarily lead.
Just last week, the board voted to appoint Darien Schoolcraft, Centennial High’s assistant principal and athletic director, to become the new principal after the previous one resigned at the end of the last school year.
While people came out to support Schoolcraft’s hire to become the principal of Centennial High, some also reached out to ABC15, concerned, as Schoolcraft was part of the administration as the investigation started. Some claim he, among other school administrators, were alerted of Beck’s behavior before the investigation began.
“His appointment wasn’t taken lightly. As I've said before, school safety is paramount. It had to be. When his name ran through the process, I mean, he not only was there for the last two years and knows the culture and the community, he also had to compete for it,” Tobey said. “There was a full panel board.
His qualifications far beat out the competition, and we want the best person for the job. For me as a board member, why I voted to appoint him as principal of Centennial High School, is all of the facts we have at the time, indicated there was no wrong doing when it came to mandatory reporting."
Board member Heather Rooks and Janelle Bowles voted against appointing Schoolcraft as principal. Rooks has been outspoken about her disapproval of the district’s handling of the investigation into Centennial, saying the district and other board members are “choosing institutions over children.”
She was also ousted as board president in May.
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“I think that when you say protect children over institutions, parents would definitely agree. Every situation is fact dependent and it has a different fact pattern. When you look at the fact patterns of these situations on their own merits, I have not seen anything that indicates any type of widespread coverup or any type of brushing under the rug. Instead, quite the opposite,” Tobey said.
Peoria Unified has been in the spotlight before, with other educators arrested before the Centennial High allegations came to light. One notable arrest was Patrick Battillo, the former head coach at Peoria High who was also known as Mr. ORNG, Suns superfan. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for child sex crimes.
“What do you want to say as board president of a district that continues to see issues like this pop up?” ABC15 asked of Tobey.
"My biggest thing, especially when I ran was school safety. Every situation is different. Every situation has its own unique fact pattern. I don't think that when we look at things in hindsight, that we can draw a conclusion us as a district as a whole,” he said. “I think what you can look to is how we respond to those things. There’s bad actors in every field, not just in education.”
As police continue their investigation, Tobey said the district is focused on preparing for the new school year.
“Making sure people are ready to come to our campuses and to learn, that's our priority right now while the investigators do what they need to focus on,” Tobey said.
Both Peoria Police as well as the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office told ABC15 they have no new updates yet.
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