In an apparent response to a failed attempt at bringing a transgender policy to Peoria Unified School District, board member Rebecca Hill doubled down on past anti-PUSD statements at the dais, and at the May 11 meeting, said moving forward she will vote against important agenda items until a transgender policy is approved.
With Teachers Appreciation Week as the backdrop, Hill said she doesn’t feel it is appropriate to give money to schools that are not going to support every single student.
“And so from this point forward, pretty much until we start supporting 100% of our population of students at PUSD, which obviously includes the girls, I am voting no on a lot of stuff,” she said. “I don’t see the point of putting any money, a dime, into such a broken, evil system.”
Following suit, Hill voted against an item to approve revisions to the fiscal year 2022-23 expenditure budget including the maintenance and operations, district additional assistance and classroom site fund budgets.
She also voted against a recommendation from the Citizens’ Advisory Committee to put a bond on the Nov. 7 general election.
“I personally believe that this bond is going to fail because there is no way that the vast majority are going to vote for a bond to put money into a school district that doesn’t support every single kid,” Hill said. “I could have maybe supported this bond had the decision been different at the last meeting, but I think it is absolutely ridiculous to put a penny into a school district that doesn’t deserve it. ...The school is falling apart and they need money, but this isn’t the right time for it. I just don’t think it is the right time. People have vouchers, I would suggest using them.”
Trina Berg, Peoria Unified teacher and former Peoria Education Association president, said Hill’s tactics are not good for the education community.
She said the bond is critical and it is disheartening that there are board members who speak against it while admitting it is needed — all because they are upset over a transgender policy that, if approved, would have broken laws.
“It’s inappropriate to try to use something like a bond or pay increase as a bargaining tool or in a coercive way. It’s not a good look when you say, ‘I know the building is old and technology is outdated, and we need a new school, but I can’t support it because I didn’t get my way,’” Berg said.
Regarding transgender students in bathrooms, the district has been following the guidance of Title IX, a federal law that states transgender students have the right to use the bathrooms they identify with.
Transgender issues have been a lightning rod at Peoria Unified school board meetings for months, with the narrative guided by Hill and governing board member Heather Rooks, who claim school bathrooms and locker rooms are not safe because transgender students or cis-gender students pretending to be transgender may assault women inside, despite no claims of assault in any school district bathrooms other than those made at school board meetings during the public comment section.
When a transgender policy was not considered during the April 27 meeting, it created a backlash from some parents and their narrative in support of a policy switched to complaints of the district not supporting females and the district allowing males into female bathrooms.
Berg said it is incorrect that they keep saying boys are allowed in the girls restroom — that’s untrue.
“Trans girls — who are girls — are allowed in the girls restroom. Not just any boy can walk in there, just like it’s always been,” she said.
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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