Teacher accused of sexual incident at Peoria school no longer employed by district

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

One of the two teachers alleged to be involved in sexually related incidents with a former Centennial High School student who was once on the varsity football team is no longer employed by the district.

Angela Burlaka, child oriented occupational program and child development teacher voluntarily surrendered her teacher’s certificates in November.

Burlaka was recommended in a report from the Peoria Police Department for a felony charge for aggravated luring a minor for sexual exploitation. That recommendation was sent to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, where no decision has been made on any potential charges.

The Arizona Board of Education approved the surrender during its Jan. 26 meeting.

A spokesperson for Peoria Unified School District said because of this, Burlaka no longer meets that condition of her contract. Therefore, her employment with Peoria Unified is terminated effective immediately, the spokesperson said.

The governing board plans ratify her termination during the regularly scheduled board meeting Feb. 12.

Haley Beck, world history, sociology and psychology teacher and soccer coach, was the second teacher involved in the investigation. According to the police report, Beck was recommended by police for a felony charge of suspicion of pandering that was sent to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. 

Beck's charges also remain under review, according to MCAO.

The teachers were put on administrative leave in August when Peoria Police and Peoria Unified each launched separate investigations into the teachers.

Peoria Police reports focus on how investigators believe Beck and Burlaka became intimate with a former student, a player on Centennial’s football team, during the past two years.

Based on initial information, police say it was not clear if the two teachers were co-conspirators or were acting independently. Investigators now believe the latter is the case.

“As this investigation continued, both investigations shared a significant amount of information and it became difficult to separate,” the reports state.

Senior News Editor Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on X @philiphaldiman. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@inusua.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@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.