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Students and public commenters press board for menstrual products, arts staffing and gun-safety instruction
Summary
Student representatives highlighted school events and achievements; public commenters asked the board to onboard a Diaper Bank program for free menstrual products (citing Connecticut law), warned of open arts/music positions and suggested firearm-safety education for students. The board acknowledged comments and moved into regular business.
Student representatives opened the meeting with school updates and community events, and several public commenters urged the Bridgeport Board of Education to act on student health, staffing and safety concerns.
Shanoi Fraser, a student representative from Warren Harding High School, highlighted recent student activities including the school play She Killed Monsters — the school’s first in about a decade — and reported HOSA team successes, saying the production "emphasized accepting differences, being compassionate, and anti-bullying." Fraser also described National Decision Day plans on May 1 and other upcoming student events.
During public comment, Diane Crawford Tyner, a Bridgeport parent leader and staff member who works with a community partner, urged the board to enroll Bridgeport schools in a menstrual hygiene program run in partnership with the Diaper Bank of Connecticut. "It is the law," Tyner said, referring to Connecticut’s menstrual equity law (PA 23-16 §10), which she said requires districts to provide menstrual products for students in grades 3–12. Tyner told the board the Diaper Bank has onboarded schools elsewhere, can handle procurement and delivery at no cost to the city, and has distributed more than 5,000,000 products statewide since 2024. She asked the board to review and approve the request so the program can be implemented in Bridgeport schools.
Longtime educator Joseph DeGrow told the board he had been told there are 10 open art and music positions at the elementary level. "I would implore you to think about putting a music and art supervisor back in," DeGrow said, arguing that supervisory support helps retain younger teachers.
Resident David Hertz urged the district to consider offering firearm-safety instruction in schools. "Our kids are probably much more likely to get hurt by a gun at home than they are by anything that happens in school," Hertz said, and suggested the district explore either paid programs or cleared volunteers to provide basic safety guidance while noting background-check and staffing obstacles.
Board members thanked speakers and then proceeded to the agenda. The public comments were entered into the meeting record; no formal board action on the requests (such as directed implementation of the Diaper Bank program or initiation of a gun-safety curriculum review) was recorded during the session.
What's next: The board will consider committee and policy work as scheduled; Diane Crawford Tyner asked that the Diaper Bank contact be included in the board minutes for follow-up.
