Pleasant Valley board hears safety and scope concerns over new single‑stall restrooms in renovation plan

Pleasant Valley School District trustees spent significant time Monday reviewing a contested element of the district’s ongoing high‑school renovation: a set of floor‑to‑ceiling, single‑stall restrooms being built adjacent to the cafeteria.

The design was described by construction manager Mike Sanders as part of the cafeteria renovation and a space solution to serve students during meal periods. Sanders said the single‑stall units are designed for privacy but include sightlines so monitors can see occupants and check on prolonged occupancy.

Several board members and community speakers urged caution. One community member showed photographs she said documented ice on the turf and argued the board must account for liability if coaches or staff make poor safety calls. Another board member asked whether the restroom doors are full‑height and whether a student who locked the door could become trapped or unobserved for an extended period.

Board members asked whether the restrooms were legally required; a member of the renovation team said they are not mandated by code but were selected after months of design discussions to fit the constrained cafeteria area and to reduce the footprint that two conventional gendered restrooms would require.

Design staff and the project team responded that the single‑stall units are private, lockable stalls (like a standard private bathroom) but that the layout includes a short hallway or window into the cafeteria area so monitors and staff can notice if a stall remains occupied too long. "We can get through the door in an emergency," the designer said, adding that monitoring protocols would trigger security checks if an occupancy timeout occurred.

Board members called for clearer documentation of safety procedures and for staff to return with details showing how monitoring, emergency access, and supervision would work in practice. A trustee also asked staff to confirm whether any state or federal building code required the configuration; staff responded it was a design choice intended to balance safety, supervision, and limited space.

Sanders also updated the board on the construction overall: Phase 2A areas and several classroom clusters are turned over and in use; demolition of the former auditorium (D1) is underway; exterior enclosure and roof work continue on the admin, cafeteria and mechanical additions; and interior mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is in progress. He said subsurface issues encountered earlier have been marked and are being managed as demolition proceeds. The contractor recommended the chiller replacement bid be placed on the January 22 agenda for approval.

Next steps: the board asked facilities staff to provide a focused, written plan showing how the restroom units will be monitored, the emergency access procedure, and any policy changes needed to minimize liability before the board moves to finalize the renovation contract documents.