Slides from school officials' presentation.
NHPS
Toilets ripped from the floor. Stalls littered with writing. Destroyed ceiling panels. And human-sized holes in walls … can all be found in New Haven’s public school bathrooms, a mess that school officials promised they’re working to clean up.
New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb and Executive Director of Facilities Jamar Alleyne spoke about that promise — what they plan to do about school bathrooms, what they still need to figure out — at a Board of Education Finance and Operations (F&O) Committee meeting.
Their update touched on bathroom conditions due to vandalism as well as plans in the works to increase the number of gender neutral bathrooms and stock bathrooms with menstrual products. (Click here to watch the full meeting, which took place Monday.)
Vandalism
The Monday committee report followed a vote this past Friday by the citywide student council to make clean and accessible bathroom facilities their first priority to tackle alongside the school board over the next year or two.
Officials reported at Monday’s F&O meeting that the school system received at least 248 vandalism related work orders between July 1, 2023 through March 12, 2024. Lamb and Alleyne clarified that the school system doesn’t know the exact number of work orders reported specifically following acts of vandalism — because their tracking system does not have a simple way to categorize issues as “vandalism” rather than another cause.
Still, the pair estimated that 28 percent of bathroom vandalism incidents occur in high schools. The schools with the most frequent reports are Wilbur Cross, Mauro-Sheridan, and Ross-Woodward. The high school with the most costly repairs is Metropolitan Business Academy due to a second floor bathroom fire that occurred last year.
Bathroom vandalism incidents so far include dispensers ripped from walls, causing extensive damage to the entire wall; toilets torn out of the ground; and damaged ceiling grates.
Alleyne said a girls bathroom and boys bathroom at Hillhouse High School are currently closed or minimally used due to students pulling stall doors off their hinges.
He added that most of the damage happens during the school day, not during after-school hours.
The report did not include any information about student consequences; Lamb said his department handles only maintenance issues, not student discipline.
Gender Neutral Bathrooms
Monday’s update included plans to establish more gender neutral bathrooms in all schools. In accordance with the state’s guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender or Gender-Diverse Students, Lamb said, the schools are required to have bathrooms consistent with students’ gender identity.
Currently, Alleyne said, all schools have unisex (gender neutral) bathrooms in nursing offices. The district intends to expand these options in accordance with its policy 5145.33, the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Policy, which was approved in 2021.
Over the next few months the district will roll out more unisex bathroom conversions where possible in buildings. At some schools, Lamb said, specific rooms have been identified as an accessible gender neutral bathroom area.
The team is working on getting the proper signage for the bathrooms. And they’re still considering which schools need bathrooms fixed first and which require fresh toilets installed altogether. They have yet to compile cost estimates for that construction work.
Board F&O Committee Chair Matt Wilcox suggested the facilities team identify gaps and compile a list of envisioned locations for the bathrooms to receive input from students and staff about accessibility.
Alleyne said the team will put together a report to define the gap in the coming weeks.
“How are we determining progress?” asked board member OrLando Yarborough.
Lamb said there are no standards for gender neutral bathrooms that the district can refer to. The team intends to monitor the new sites to see if the school community makes use of the bathrooms.
Menstrual Equity Deadline Looms
For the final topic of Monday’s bathroom report, Alleyne said that the district is also working to tackle period poverty. The district has until Sept. 1 to gain compliance with the state’s menstrual equity legislation “requiring public schools to supply a range of menstrual products in school restrooms.”
Alleyne said some students might be missing school because of a lack of accessible menstrual products.
Alleyne and Lamb said their team plans to provide schools serving students in grades 3 – 12 with coin-free dispensers or other free access to menstrual products in all girls bathrooms, any gender neutral bathrooms, and at least one boys bathroom per school. The district plans to assign each school a coordinator to oversee implementation, address restocking concerns, and lead dialogues about menstrual equity and period poverty.
The team estimated that this plan will affect about 350 bathrooms. They said the start-up cost will range between $350,000 and 400,000 for dispensers, receptacles, and products. Each following year, it would cost about $60,000 to keep up with products and disposable liner bags — not counting unanticipated replacements of dispensers.
Wilcox asked if the district is on track to meet the Sept. 1 deadline. Lamb responded that the “largest obstacle right now is funding,” for which the team is seeking sources.
Wilcox suggested the district pilot dispersing the menstrual products in baskets placed on bathroom counters to see how many products are actually taken by students and to help assess the extent of student needs.
Lamb said the idea is not out of the question. Alleyne added that other school districts using the basket method have reported running out of products faster and seeing student vandalism to baskets.
Wilcox cited student concerns raised to him directly and in this Independent story about students arriving to schools first thing in the morning to find bathrooms already out of toilet paper, napkins, or soap.
Wilcox asked if bathrooms are stocked every morning.
Alleyne said the shortages likely result from students throwing napkins and toilet paper out of windows and in toilets. He said each school’s maintenance team is resupplied once a week with products, and they stock bathrooms at the start of each day.
