PEORIA, AZ — The Peoria Unified School District confirms another educator, who is related to a now-fired teacher, is on administrative leave and under investigation.
According to communication sent home to families, the school district said Amy Beck, a teacher at Coyote Hills Elementary School, was put on paid administrative leave and that the district has begun an investigation.
Amy Beck is the mother of Haley Beck. Haley was recently fired from the Peoria Unified School District after an investigation accused she was grooming a student while working at Centennial High School.
It is currently unclear why Amy is on leave, for how long and why she is under investigation.
"While I cannot share additional details on a personnel matter, please know this matter does not impact the safety of our students,” the principal of Coyotes Hills said in communication to families.
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The Peoria Unified School District has been under a microscope as families and community members have spoken out about the handling of the investigation into the Centennial High teachers. Just last week, the board voted 3-2 to table the discussion in getting a third-party investigator to look into the allegations at the high school involving Haley Beck and another educator, Angela Burlaka, as well as the administration who may have received reports.
In a communication sent home to families on Monday, the superintendent said the police department communicated there was “no indication district officials failed to meet their obligations as mandatory reporters under Arizona law.”
Burlaka is also no longer with the district as Peoria Police investigated her involvement with the same student.
Peoria Police have recommended charges of pandering for Haley Beck and charges of aggravated luring of a minor for Burlaka. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said the cases are still under review.
Below is the full communication from the superintendent:
Dear Centennial Families,
I am writing to you directly because you deserve a clear message from your superintendent, in my own words, about the matter that has been the subject of recent media coverage and online conversation.
Student safety is the foundation of everything we do at Peoria Unified. It is the standard I am held to, the standard I hold our principals and staff to and the standard you should expect every time you send your child to one of our schools. With that as the starting point, here is what is established and what is happening now.
The Facts
The Peoria Police Department investigated this matter and, on April 2, 2026, communicated in writing that there is no indication district officials failed to meet their obligations as mandatory reporters under Arizona law. Their conclusion was that the information available at the time concerns were initially raised did not meet the legal threshold for reasonable suspicion of abuse. When information later developed that met that threshold, law enforcement was notified and the investigation proceeded. The Police Department has submitted its findings to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review.
The district's internal review of how these concerns were handled administratively reached the same conclusion regarding the legal reporting standard. Where that review identified administrative concerns separate from the mandatory reporting question, those have been addressed through appropriate personnel action.
Through the District's Title IX process, Ms. Haley Beck was found responsible for violating Governing Board Policy on sexual harassment, and termination was recommended. On March 26, 2026, the Governing Board adopted a Statement of Charges to terminate her employment. The Arizona Department of Education accepted Ms. Angela Burlaka’s voluntary surrender of her teaching certification on January 26, 2026, and was terminated by Peoria Unified effective the same day. Both matters were submitted to the Arizona Department of Education's Investigative Unit. Ms. Beck’s certificate remains under investigation and pending before the State Board of Education.
I recognize that some of these processes — Title IX, personnel action, criminal review, state certification review — are unfamiliar to most families, and that the time they take can feel at odds with the urgency you rightly feel. I understand that. These are the systems that exist to make sure outcomes are lawful and durable, and we have used every one of them.
Information Circulating Online
There is a great deal being said in public spaces right now, some of it accurate, some of it not. I am not going to spend this letter responding to every claim. What I will say is this: the district has acted, is acting, and will continue to act on the basis of facts, law and the responsibilities entrusted to us by this community. There are limits on what we can share publicly while criminal review and state certification processes are pending, and those limits exist to protect the integrity of the very processes that families rightly want to see completed. We will continue to share what we can, when we can.
How to Report a Concern
If you, your child, or someone you know has information relevant to this matter or any concern about student safety, please act on it.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety hotline is 1-888-767-2445, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Information about reporting is available at https://dcs.az.gov/report-child-abuse [dcs.az.gov].
You may also contact the Peoria Police Department, your school administration directly, or the district office at 623-486-6000, and the information will be routed to the people responsible for handling it.
Moving Forward
Centennial High School, under the continued leadership of Principal Scott Hollabaugh, remains focused on its students and its mission – and he has the full support of the Peoria Unified School District’s administration. Teachers are teaching. Coaches are coaching. Counselors are supporting kids. The vast majority of what happens at Centennial every day is the extraordinary, important work of educating young people, and that work has not stopped.
Across the district, we are reinforcing protocols for how staff respond to concerns about student safety, including any information that reaches them through students, social media, or community report. Every staff member knows, and is reminded that the standard for reporting is reasonable belief, not certainty, and that the district supports staff who report concerns in good faith.
The Coyote community is built by the families, students, and staff who show up for one another year after year. What has happened does not change that, and it does not define the people who walk into that building every day to do right by your children. I am grateful for the trust you place in our schools, and I am committed, as is every member of the district team, to maintaining a safe, supportive, and excellent learning environment for every student.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
Sincerely,
Dr. KC Somers
Superintendent
Peoria Unified School District
