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Students, residents urge North Allegheny board to address restroom policy during public comment
Summary
At the March 19 North Allegheny School District meeting, students and residents urged the board to reconsider restroom guidance, raising privacy and safety concerns and asking for more single‑use facilities; the board took no formal action during the meeting.
At the North Allegheny School District board meeting on March 19, students and community members used the public‑comment period to press the board to reconsider district restroom guidance for students they said raises privacy and safety concerns.
Dominic Sillo, a ninth‑grade student at North Allegheny Intermediate, told the board: "Every student, regardless of gender, male or female, deserves to feel comfortable and secure when using the restroom." He said that under current guidance students who object are told to use the nurse's office restrooms, and he asked the board to add more single‑use restrooms rather than require the majority of students to accommodate others. "This is not about exclusion. It is not about discrimination. It is about fairness, about biological facts," Sillo said.
Mike Hatch, a McCandless resident who identified himself as a local business owner, entrepreneur and pastor, echoed safety concerns and praised Sillo for speaking. "By allowing a girl into the boys restroom, you are instead teaching our kids that as long as you identify with the favored ideology, you get preferential treatment," Hatch said.
Resident Michael Molinaro offered support for Sillo and urged the district to "figure this out ASAP," saying he did not want what he called "this nonsense" in school restrooms.
Speakers framed their remarks as appeals to privacy and safety. Sillo cited a high‑profile case in Loudoun County, Virginia, during his remarks to underscore his concerns; the board did not take action on the issue at the March 19 meeting. No board motion or vote about restroom policy or related guidance appeared on the publicly discussed agenda that evening, and the board did not schedule a follow‑up discussion during the meeting.
The board proceeded to other agenda items, including routine approvals and school reports. Board members did not respond with a policy proposal or vote on restroom guidance during the meeting.
