“I didn’t want them to write my obituary”

For one school principal, her nightmares became a reality after rumors began circulating.

A self-described "later in life" lesbian who taught and oversaw students and staff in a rural part of the Southeast Valley for 13 years, she was in the process of divorcing her husband when staff and students began whispering about her sexuality.

She confirmed that teachers were spreading rumors while attending an association meeting and soon filed a complaint with the district’s human relations department.

Still, the rumors persisted. The district didn’t take action, even as parents began hearing the rumors and discussing them.

Eventually, an employee from human relations spoke with the principal, but only after a parent lodged an anonymous complaint. The parent accused the principal of having an affair with another female employee—an accusation she denied. The parent had never witnessed the alleged act. It was all based on rumors, according to audio and email records reviewed by LOOKOUT.

In what appeared to be a Joe McCarthy-style line of questioning, she was asked about her sexual orientation, her recent divorce, and her personal life: 

“Do you believe there is any grooming going on on your side?” a representative from the district asked her in an audio recording reviewed by LOOKOUT. The principal denied it. 

At that point, the principal could see the writing on the wall. She said she knew she had to leave.

“I’m gay, I don’t belong here,” she told herself, explaining that she didn’t come out as gay at work for these exact reasons—retribution, retaliation, and gossip.

It terrified her enough to stay quiet and seek work elsewhere.

“I felt like I had no option but to leave, and I wanted to make sure I got out while I still had my name and my reputation, because I’ve worked so hard for that,” she said. “I didn’t want them to write my obituary.”

In a leaked web meeting, school board candidates doubled-down on anti-trans rhetoric.

The webcast, organized by Arizona Women of Action, is part of a campaign to use LGBTQ+ issues as a galvanizing issue this November.

LOOKOUTTori Gantz (she/they)

Though she recognized the situation as discrimination, she feared what would happen if she became a whistleblower: she could lose her career, her pension, and her name could be exposed.

LOOKOUT reviewed emails between the principal’s lawyer and the school district to verify the claims about why she left her position and has agreed to withhold her full name from publication. By publishing her name, she said she risks further harassment, attacks, and damage to her mental health and overall well-being.

Employees like her are widespread in school districts across Arizona. They are facing a reality in a more socially conservative world, where, in the past, they might have been able to talk openly about their marriages or relationships, but now feel they cannot.

Though teachers are technically protected under a state executive order signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, which grants state employees equal rights in hiring and firing based on sexual or gender identity, it does little to counter laws that have empowered parents seeking retribution from a public school system they believe has strayed too far from their core values.

As a result, teachers feel pressured to hide their identities, shut down emotionally, or leave the profession altogether. Speaking out against the state’s institutional closeting of public school staff has led many to fear retaliation—not necessarily from peers, but from elected officials and their supporters.

The coming years

The next legislative session in Arizona—and at the federal level—will continue a wave of politics targeting the LGBTQ+ community, something political forecasters, civil rights lawyers, and progressive organizers had warned about if conservatives gained power at the state and national levels.

We’ve already started to see this unfold. Last week, House Republicans in Washington D.C. voted to re-elect Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson as House Speaker. They also passed new rules for the the upcoming federal session, including a proposal to restrict funding to public schools that do not abide by Title IX guidelines, which would be amended to restrict transgender students from playing in athletics.

Parents of trans youth say bullying starts at the top

Often left out of the conversation, they say politicians and other parents are to blame for harassment.

LOOKOUTGeri Koeppel (she/her)

The new rules, which act as political guardrails for the next session, aligns with promises made by President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20. At a recent event in Phoenix, Trump declared he would eliminate "transgender lunacy" and have the federal government recognize only two sexes—those assigned at birth.

For teachers in Arizona, the House’s decision to use the culture war to battle school funding is nothing new. They have been hearing it for years.

Conservative lawmakers pushing to expand the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) have claimed that public schools are teaching “gender ideology” and “critical race theory”—two topics local groups such as Arizona Women of Action and Turning Point USA have frequently said are being "pushed" on students. The examples often cited include books with LGBTQ+ characters or educational material about sexual health.

But the attacks on "gender ideology" are not just targeting curriculums—they’re also aimed at teachers.

One fifth-grade teacher LOOKOUT spoke to, who asked to remain anonymous, has taught for 15 years. She transitioned in 2017 during the Trump administration. While her appearance had changed after undergoing facial feminization surgery, it was her last name that gave her away.

If she spoke too openly about her transition, she risked retribution from what she called a "very loud 10%" of parents who are openly anti-LGBTQ+.

Although she displays a transgender flag in her classroom, she said she is careful not to focus too much on her identity. Several parents have already withdrawn their children, citing issues with her transition, she said.

“It hurts to be judged by the way I look rather than by my abilities,” she said.

The school district did not respond back in time of publishing to confirm if students were removed from classrooms because of parents complaints of teachers either being transgender or affirming transgender students. 

“I’m Going to Be Visible”

Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, said while teachers are technically protected from discrimination, they are not shielded from being targeted by angry school board members or lawmakers, who often lead attacks on LGBTQ+ educators for political reasons.

“We can’t rely on the courts anymore,” Garcia said. “It’s not just about legal protections… We can’t protect them legally from the trauma they’re experiencing”

More often than not, Garcia said, teachers are being pushed out of the classroom rather than directly fired. 

River Chunnui, a teacher in Peoria, said they felt pressure to stay closeted every day after being targeted by two sitting school board members in 2022, and understands being pushed out. 

“Some of the board members took to public platforms to call me a groomer and accuse me of sexualizing students, among many other things,” Chunnui said.

In 2022, Chunnui sent an email to colleagues about Transgender Day of Visibility, inviting educators to show support for transgender students with simple messages like, "I see you" or "I support you."

A teacher’s road to acceptance, and fighting back against hate

River Chinnui is a nonbinary teacher in Peoria who has been the center of anti-queer rhetoric. Now, they’re making their voice heard.

LOOKOUTJoseph Darius Jaafari (he/him)

What seemed like an innocent message quickly went viral on conservative Twitter, now X, after Peoria school board member Heather Rooks tweeted a screenshot of the email. Soon after, the online harassment escalated, and Chunnui’s mental health declined.

“I felt unsafe at work,” Chunnui said. “Depression and anxiety don’t even begin to describe it.”

After someone slashed their tires and people threw rocks at their house, Chunnui considered leaving altogether—but ultimately, they decided against it.

“They want us to hide. They want us to be invisible,” Chunnui said, explaining their reasoning. “I’m not going to run away. I’m going to be visible.”

Chunnui has filed a civil lawsuit against Rooks, who did not comment for this story.

Tami Staas, executive director of the Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization and a fourth-grade teacher at Mesa Public Schools, has also filed a civil lawsuit against her alleged harasser from the Mesa Governing School Board. Staas, who identifies as queer, shares the same sentiments as Chunnui about leaving the profession.

“It’s as if they’re trying to force us back in the closet or shame us into not supporting these kids,” Staas said.

Staas has been repeatedly targeted by right-wing groups who have called her—similar to Chunnui—a “groomer” or “pedophile.”

After online attacks against her by an incoming school board member, a Mesa teacher is suing

Sharon Benson is named in a lawsuit for allegedly defaming a teacher she is set to have power over.

LOOKOUTJoseph Darius Jaafari (he/him)

She, too, has considered closeting herself to avoid being a target.

Staas worries about the future of LGBTQ+ teachers if the country continues isolating them by eliminating discussions of sexuality and gender.

Just as parents attend school board meetings to fight for their children, she said, they should also advocate for teachers:

“Speak out for your teachers who are showing up for your students. Go before your school board and thank those teachers who are supporting your students, because they need to hear that those teachers matter and that they are important.”