Two Peoria Unified School District governing board members nearly scuttled the issuance of contracts to about 4,000 employees that would have included salary and benefits for the 2023-24 school year and led to the unemployment of those employees by mid-summer, all in an effort to remove two teachers.
The contracts eventually were issued by a 3-2 vote during a March 9 meeting, with board members Heather Rooks and Rebecca Hill dissenting over concerns regarding two teachers on the list. Hill initially motioned to approve the rehire list without those two teachers. Rooks seconded the motion, however the motion failed, 2-3.
Subsequently, board member Melissa Ewing motioned to approve the full rehire list, which was seconded by President David Sandoval.
The motion was approved 3-2, with Rooks and Hill dissenting.
Had this vote failed, contracts for the new school year would not have been issued to thousands of district employees, including certified staff, related service providers, psychologists and administrators. Thousands of PUSD employees would have been unemployed beginning July 1, 2023.
Hill’s initial motion, however, was problematic for the district as its approval would have removed the two teachers’ due process rights to respond to complaints about their performance in the classroom.
Chief Personnel Officer Laura Vesely said the district must follow state and federal law when investigating staff and implementing any potential discipline procedures, including enlisting legal council if needed when going through fair due process.
Vesely said due process has been given in complaint investigations against teachers, and the district has followed due process and will continue to follow due process. She did not name any specific teacher investigations.
“There are statutory requirements that we as a district must follow,” Vesely said.
Parents and guardians have options for submitting complaints, and while the district can investigate certain complaints others may be referred to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, which handles allegations of discrimination, harassment and specific issues regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Parents during a public comment mentioned the teachers by name, as did Hill, as well as their complaints. Rooks seconded Hill’s motion to remove the two teachers from the list. The Daily Independent is attempting to verify those claims.
The Independent has also reached out to the two teachers in question and will update the story when possible.
Hill said she expects PUSD teachers to do better.
“I find it difficult to approve all the contracts when there are obvious teachers that are not fulfilling their job obligations and they’re not keeping our kids safe and they are not following our policy,” she said. “I expect our teachers to hold themselves to a higher level and be a great representative, a great role model for our kids and protect them.”
Rooks said there are some teachers on the list that need to be looked at, but she did not name any specifically. She asked Superintendent Jason Reynolds if he is OK with the teachers in question.
“I am not going to speak about individual personnel issues,” Reynolds responded. “I can say that I am confident in our human resources department, very confident in the work they do to address any issues that come up and that every employee on this list is deemed rehireable as of [May 9].”
He added a public governing board meeting is not the process to follow through with discipline. Some council members and other top level administrators agreed.
“My only comment is that everyone deserves due process and accountability for these individuals that are being spoken about,” board member Bill Sorensen said. “We hold our superintendent accountable and he should hold his leaders accountable.”
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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