EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The Edwardsville High School (EHS) Commons expansion project is moving forward along with the single-stall, gender-neutral bathroom design as the Edwardsville District 7 School Board approved construction bids Monday night.

What You Need To Know

  • The commons project is an 8,000-square-foot expansion at EHS and includes a full renovation of bathrooms. Construction will begin this summer and cost approximately $6.9 million

  • The most recent design is a 10 to 12-foot corridor that leads into the new commons with handwashing stations on either side with 18 fully enclosed toilet rooms

  • At Monday’s meeting, the board awarded construction packages for the expansion project with a 5-2 vote

  • Parents and community members on both sides of the issue spoke during public comment

The commons project is an 8,000-square-foot expansion at EHS and includes a full renovation of bathrooms. Construction will begin this summer and cost approximately $6.9 million, according to the school district’s website.

The most recent design is a 10 to 12-foot corridor that leads into the new commons with handwashing stations on either side and 18 fully enclosed toilet rooms. There will be two handicap accessible toilet rooms and additional restrooms located across the hall for students who need adult assistance.

In April 2023, voters approved a $100 million bond proposal for the district to address facility, safety and security upgrades at school buildings, according to the district’s website.

At Monday’s meeting, the board awarded construction packages for the expansion project with a 5-2 vote in favor. Board members Terri Dalla Riva, Jennifer Brumback, Kristen Pfund, Lynne Sanderson and Jill Bertels voted in favor and Bob Paty and Scott Ahart voted not in favor.

“There’s no way that we aren’t going to upset somebody in this process,” Paty said. “Have we done our due diligence and made sure that we have solicited everybody because it is a change, a significant change.”

Board President Bertels said there have been a lot of comments submitted regarding the bathroom design and she thanked everyone who voiced their opinions.

“There’s no one right answer and there’s no one wrong answer in my opinion. It seems that at this time, there (are) some problems with the restrooms as they are designed presently,” she said.

“It’s not going to be an overall fix and we still have a long way to go, but just like anything that comes in, whether it’s education or most of our professions, no one move is going to remedy all of the problems and we still need to address safety.”

Bertels added that this will give students a “safe place to go and not be intimidated.”

“Every student has the right to use a bathroom in privacy and without drawing attention to themselves,” Riva said.

She mentioned that the community should consider the Illinois Human Rights Act, which recognizes gender identity as a protected class..

“That’s very important in this decision and so we are providing girls' bathrooms and boys' bathrooms and this is one more step to providing gender-neutral bathrooms,” Riva said.

Parents and community members on both sides of the issue spoke during public comment.

Dwight Kay spoke in opposition of gender-neutral bathrooms.

“Transgender bathrooms are an issue as far as I’m concerned because there are safety concerns — wandering eyes, inappropriate comments, safe space,” he said.

“Who watches the watchers? How will discipline be administered?”

Kay said the district will be faced with hormonal therapy, puberty control drugs and the morning after pill being made available.

“I think what you have here is a broken arrow,” he said. “If you elect to pass this, (it) will be the sweeping equity initiative for District 7.”

Caleb Romoser, a 2008 Edwardsville High School graduate and parent in the district, spoke in favor of the gender-neutral bathrooms.

“As a high school teacher, I understand the particular problems that bathrooms pose,” he said, recalling what he witnessed as a teacher in a nearby district. “I, myself, have broken up fights in traditionally gendered bathrooms multiple times at the high school I work at over the last decade.”

“I was thrilled when I saw the gender-neutral bathrooms that create a place where children can be kept, where fights can be prevented in a safe and private way for all of those involved.”

Romoser added that his friend, also an Edwardsville High School graduate, was discriminated against for being transgender.

“The anxiety that they felt every day upon trying to choose a bathroom, trying to find a bathroom that felt safe where they would not be violated, bullied, ridiculed, or as we know happens, physically harmed, was agony for this young person,” Romoser said.

He mentioned that the district has students who are transgender, gender queer and gender fluid.

“This is an excellent opportunity to validate them as they are to make education a safe space for them as well as their gender counterparts,” Romoser said.