Arizona lawmakers target Peoria school district over alleged abuse cover-up

PEORIA, Ariz. – More leadership shakeups are hitting the embattled Peoria Unified School District amid a major school sex scandal. On May 19, the governing board voted out the incoming interim superintendent, sparking a massive wave of public backlash.

What we know:

In a special meeting, the board voted to remove Dr. Ryan LaDouceur, who was appointed to the position just five weeks ago. In his place, they appointed Human Resources Chief Tahlya Visintainer to take over effective May 26.

“The Peoria Unified Governing Board voted today to appoint Tahlya Visintainer as Interim Superintendent beginning May 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027. During this time, the district will conduct a search for the next Superintendent,” the board said.

The district has been in turmoil following a scandal at Centennial High School, where two former teachers are accused of having a sexual relationship with the same student. Some community members have accused administrators of covering up the abuse, and critics claim LaDouceur was pushed out because he wanted an independent, outside investigation.

Critics also point out that Visintainer was the lead investigator in the district’s internal investigation into the scandal. This is raising red flags for parents who feel having an HR executive oversee the probe protects staff over students.

Big picture view:

The fallout surrounding all of this is now reaching the state level. State lawmakers and a local board member held a news conference to address the scandal. They are demanding real accountability and highlighting the critical need for mandatory reporting when it comes to sexual abuse of minors.

The Arizona Senate president held a news conference May 19 along with Peoria board member Heather Rooks to highlight the critical need for mandatory reporting when it comes to sexual abuse of minors. The message of the press conference is that the Peoria school district is blocking police from properly investigating what is happening inside Centennial High School.

The allegations are that multiple female teachers are sexually abusing and grooming multiple male students, and it is all being swept under the rug in the name of protecting the district’s reputation.

What they’re saying:

“Students all saw what was going on. They saw that Haley Beck was fixated on high school boys. They saw that things were going to be swept under the rug. And that’s all in the police report,” said Heather Rooks, Peoria Unified School District Governing Board.

Rooks spoke at a news conference on the mounting controversy inside the Peoria Unified School District involving now-former Centennial High teachers 27-year-old Haley Beck and 47-year-old Angela Burlaka, seen in viral social media videos. Peoria police are investigating both after numerous allegations each was carrying on an inappropriate relationship with the same student.

The backstory:

Beck, the sister of popular TikToker Noah Beck, is accused of sending the student thousands of texts, gifting him with money, drugs and alcohol, offering sexual acts, and manipulating his grade and attendance. Burlaka, a 25-year teaching veteran, is accused of sending this same student explicit videos. She turned in her teaching license, and Beck was fired by the board.

Inside the police report, eyewitnesses tell authorities the abuse was well-known.

“I’ve read all 200 pages of that police report with a fine-toothed comb and there was no questioning of staff members at Centennial High School. They didn’t question any other teachers, they didn’t question the front office staff, they didn’t talk to anyone at that school,” Rooks claimed.

As board president, Rooks called for further investigation but was ousted by her colleagues. Now demoted to a board member, she took it upon herself to reach out to County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and the State Board of Education to look into whether adults in the school failed to report the inappropriate behavior by Beck and Burlaka.

“I need to make sure that the district is going to do right, not only by my children, and mandate reporting if there is a teacher that was preying on my student but other students we have to protect the kids,” Rooks said.

Rooks believes there is something suspicious about the Peoria board not only removing her as president but now the acting interim superintendent. Both want to clean up the situation at Centennial High School. Senate President Warren Petersen said it appears the image and success of a school district is more important than protecting children.

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