A national advocacy group says Peoria Unified school board members are imposing their religious beliefs on others when they invoke the Bible during public meetings, a violation they say is unconstitutional.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking school board members Heather Rooks and Rebecca Hill to stop using their government positions to promote their personal religious beliefs.
A letter to the board members from Christopher Line, staff attorney for Freedom From Religion Foundation, particularity points out Rooks, and states she has been using her position on the board to foist her personal religious beliefs upon district parents and community members.
The letter cites the Establishment Clause in the Constitution, which “protects Americans’ religious freedom by ensuring the continued separation of religion and government — dictates that the government cannot in any way show favoritism toward religion.”
The letter adds Rooks has openly embraced Christian nationalism and invites her supporters to attend board meetings en masse, sometimes causing disruptions to the official proceedings.
“While board members are free to promote their personal religious beliefs however they wish in their personal capacities outside of the school board, as government officials they cannot be allowed to commandeer the board in order to impose their personal religious beliefs on district students, parents, and employees,” the letter said.
School boards in Arizona are nonpartisan, but political ideology has been pushing into school board meetings for a number of years now.
From censures to conservative groups, political theatrics has become a common experience at Peoria Unified governing board meetings, and it has heated up recently over the issue of transgender students in bathrooms and locker rooms.
The situation has become so intense the district had to beef up security for meetings.
Since the board voted 3-2 against crafting new policy directed at transgender students, April 27, the rhetoric has intensified.
Advocacy groups are starting to notice.
One of the missions of Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religious Freedom is to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism, according to the group.
The group is asking the Peoria Unified school board to take whatever action necessary to ensure Rooks and Hill respect the constitutional rights of the Peoria Unified School District community.
In 2016, the Freedom From Religion Foundation won a federal court judgment against Chino Valley Unified School District for inserting religion into official proceedings, and the court ordered the district to pay more than $200,000 in the plaintiffs’ attorney fees and costs.
“If (PUSD) board members continue to impose religion on those in attendance, it will subject the school district to unnecessary liability and potential financial strain,” the letter stated.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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