A scandal at a Phoenix-area high school is prompting Maricopa County's top education official to send a clear message to every school in the region: when it comes to protecting children, silence is not an option.
Two former teachers at Centennial High School in the Peoria Unified School District, Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka, are facing allegations of sexual misconduct involving a student.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Peoria Police Department are both investigating. Following the allegations, Burlaka voluntarily surrendered her Arizona teaching certificates, while the school board voted unanimously to terminate Beck's employment.
The situation grew more complicated when former governing board president Heather Rooks called for an inquiry into whether district staff had properly followed the state's mandatory reporting requirements. Shortly after raising those concerns, Rooks was voted out of the board presidency in a narrow 3-2 decision.
Prioritizing the Children
Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs then put every district and charter school in the county on notice. Arizona law requires teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, and other school personnel to report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse or misconduct directly to law enforcement without delay.
Boggs has also been in contact with County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, emphasizing that school administrators should leave investigations to law enforcement rather than handling allegations internally.
"Parents send their children to school expecting they will be educated, protected, and safe," Boggs issued a statement. "Schools must never become places where warning signs are ignored, delayed, minimized, or buried behind bureaucracy."
She made her priorities unmistakably clear: "If you serve in Arizona schools in any capacity, your first responsibility is to protect children. Not the institution. Not reputations. Not careers. IT IS TO PROTECT CHILDREN."
Going forward, Boggs announced that mandatory reporting training will be incorporated into the next Maricopa County school board training session, so that board members are fully aware of both their legal obligations and their responsibility to students.
Anyone with information related to the Beck and Burlaka cases is encouraged to contact Peoria police at 623-773-8132.
