Peoria Unified implements new safety policies amid teachers probe

PEORIA, Ariz. - As the Peoria Unified School District prepares to welcome students back, its leaders face lots of questions.

The backstory:

It was just weeks ago that the district headquarters was wrapped in yellow tape as police executed a search warrant in connection to the criminal investigation involving two former teachers who are accused of having a sexual relationship with the same student.

Peoria Unified's Governing Board President, Jeff Tobey, said the district has cooperated with police, claiming it actually asked investigators to use a formal legal process in order for administration to be able to legally release certain documents.

"We were the ones that actually reached out to police and asked for that legal process, that to us to legally provide that to the police department," Tobey said.

Shortly after that search warrant was executed at the district in early July, the board named Darien Schoolcraft as Centennial's new principal — despite concerns over a February 2025 email he was CC'ed on regarding one of the teacher's conduct.

Tobey defended the appointment, saying April police reports showed there was not enough information then to trigger a mandatory report.

"All I have at the time is what the police reported out in April, containing all the information up until that point, including that email from 2025, that there wasn't a failure of a mandatory report," Tobey said. "If evidence does come to light that changes that, then we'll address it at that time. But all I have to act on is what I know right now."

Dig deeper:

To rebuild trust ahead of the new school year, Tobey says the district has implemented a new student-staff boundary policy to outline inappropriate behavior and warning signs, and added an anonymous reporting hotline to the back of all student IDs.

"So that way students or staff can feel comfortable reporting things anonymously," Tobey said. "And if there's follow up that needs to be had, we can do so promptly."

Tobey acknowledges community frustration over the lack of answers, but says federal student privacy laws and the active investigation prevent sharing more right now, adding that he leaves the timeline for accountability up to police.

"I think that they [district families] deserve information," Tobey said. "It's just at the appropriate time... hopefully in time we'll all find out as far as what exactly happened, what the facts are, and accountability will come."

What we don't know:

It is still unknown what, if anything, Peoria police found during their search warrant.

While police recommended charges against Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka — the two teachers accused in this case — those are still under review by the county attorney.

District Interim Superintendent Tahlya Visintainer recently sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda E. McMahon, asking for a second look at how the district is working and its processes. Tobey says it is another effort to increase district transparency.

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