RSU 10 board votes to open Mountain Valley communal bathrooms as built after narrow defeat of wall amendment

The RSU 10 school board voted to open the all‑gender communal bathroom at Mountain Valley Community School "as is" after a public discussion and a roll‑call vote concluding in favor of opening the facility without adding a permanent dividing wall.

Board Chair opened the discussion noting there was no legal barrier to opening; Superintendent Deb said the district had received an occupancy permit and that the board had seen a legal opinion from the district attorney. Several speakers from the public and legislators had urged the board to consider a different legal interpretation. Representative Mike Lance read a brief he said came from the Maine Education Initiative that argued the plain text of Title 20‑A §6501 requires separate sanitary facilities and that a shared entrance to a common sink area could be interpreted as non‑compliant.

Public commenters were sharply divided. Diane Hornum, a longtime Brockton resident, told the board she researched peer‑reviewed studies and…