A large, and at times vocal, crowd of parents and area residents turning out at the Elida school board meeting Tuesday night.
An issue for many of those attending were ongoing concerns over the district's bathroom and locker room policy, when it comes to students' gender identity. The school board and school officials say that they are standing by a policy of being ready to accommodate a student's bathroom choice, based on advice of their legal counsel and their understanding of federal policy on the issue.
"If we do have a student that comes to us and states that that they’re transgender, we will offer and suggest to that student to use a private bathroom or family bathroom that we have in our buildings," said Joel Mengerink, superintendent of Elida Local School District. "Ultimately when it comes down to it, if they maintain and are steadfast in their believes that they’re transgender, then ultimately it will lead up to them using the bathroom of which they identify to, and again that comes back to the case law that has been set as precedent for us."
The members of the Elida Parents Against Bathroom Policy want school board members to go with the latest guidance from Ohio's Attorney General Dave Yost, who suggests government owned public facilities do have the right to limit bathroom accommodations. They also want the board to see opponents of their policy turn out in mass.
"Our own attorney general here in Ohio has spoken out against what schools like Bethel and Elida have done in this state, so that’s why our group is so strong and trying to speak out to the board members saying 'look, you need to take another look at this policy'," said John Solomon, an Elida graduate and Shawnee resident.
Solomon says unless state lawmakers, or the US Supreme Court, takes action on the bathroom issue, it's something every school district will have to deal with sooner or later.
