Superintendent disputes “gender neutral” characterization
By Guy Page
A Missisquoi Valley Union High School parent is objecting to the school’s recent bathroom renovations, which she says eliminated traditional boys’ and girls’ facilities in favor of one large gender-neutral restroom.
In a letter to the parent, School Superintendent Julie Regimbal denies creating “one large, gender neutral bathroom,” saying instead the renovation created “several individual, private bathrooms” – in the form of side-by-side stalls.
The school district serves the communities of Franklin, Highgate and Swanton.
In a letter sent this week to the Missisquoi Valley School District board, Principal Dan Palmer, and Regimbal, parent and taxpayer Jocelyn Reighley said she was “appalled” by the change, which she said she first learned of from her ninth-grade son.
Over the summer, the school renovated two traditional boy-girl bathrooms located next to each other into one large facility with stalls with doors, Regimbal confirmed.
Reighley wrote that the district failed to notify parents of the renovation and argued that the change undermines student privacy, safety, and modesty.
“Why would any adult even entertain the idea of putting hormonal boys and girls together in the same room for these intimate and personal moments?” she wrote. “In the not-so-distant past, this was viewed as an absolute taboo.”
Regimbal responded:
“Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. I understand why you’re upset based on the information your son shared with you. I want to clarify what has actually been done regarding the bathroom renovations at MVU high school, as there seems to be a misunderstanding.
We have not created one large, gender-neutral bathroom. Instead, we have remodeled the large, multi-stall bathrooms into several individual, private bathrooms. Each new bathroom is a separate, fully-enclosed room with its own toilet and sink, offering a higher degree of privacy than the traditional large group bathrooms.
This change was made to address student privacy and safety, as well as to improve the overall student experience. The new individual bathrooms are available to all students, but they are not shared at the same time. A student enters a private bathroom, uses it, and then another student can use it after they exit. This setup eliminates the concerns you raised about boys and girls congregating in the same large space, which was a valid concern with the old layout.
I hope this information clarifies the situation. We believe these new individual bathrooms provide a safer, more private, and more comfortable environment for all of our students.”
Reighley also raised concerns about potential harassment or predatory behavior, saying younger students could feel intimidated or unsafe. She questioned whether some students might avoid using the bathroom altogether during the school day.
In addition to safety and privacy, Reighley criticized the use of tax dollars for the project, calling it “reckless and inexplicable” spending at a time when the district faces other needs.
“This issue has nothing to do with politics,” she wrote. “Instead of protecting our youth, you are intentionally placing them in a completely inappropriate situation every day at school and expecting everyone to just pretend that it is normal.”
Reighley urged the district to reverse the renovation and restore gender-specific bathrooms.
School officials have not yet publicly responded to the letter.
The gender-free bathroom construction possibly may anticipate passage of H194, “to require that any non-emergency school construction project receiving State aid include the creation of a high-capacity, gender-neutral restroom.” Sponsored by Democrat/Progressive Reps. Troy Headrick (Burlington), Emily Carris-Duncan (Windham County), Elanor Chapin (East Montpelier), Kate Logan (Burlington), Kate McCann (Montpelier), Brian Minier (South Burlington), the bill was referred to the House Education Committee this spring but proceeded no further.