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Parents, students and coaches urge Mesa Unified to fix Red Mountain portable restrooms, citing safety and ADA concerns
Summary
At the governing board meeting, several public commenters from Red Mountain High School described repeated restroom lock failures, overflowing waste, lack of running water and paths that they say block wheelchair access, and urged the district for a timetable to build permanent ADA‑compliant facilities.
About five minutes into public comment at the Mesa Public Schools governing board meeting, an area parent told the board the portable restrooms serving Red Mountain High School athletic events are “not just inconvenient, it is unacceptable.” Haley Westerestra, representing softball families, said portable toilets at the softball and baseball complex frequently fail to lock, are unsanitary and lack accessible pathways and proper signage, and asked the district for a public timeline to design and construct permanent ADA‑compliant restrooms.
Westerestra described multiple specific incidents she said occurred at tournaments and practices: broken locks that allowed adult men to walk in on teenage girls, portables so unsanitary that parents cleaned them, and fixtures that could not accommodate a child with special needs. She told the board the temporary accessible unit added by the district remains inadequate because “it still does not address how one with a wheelchair could even make it down to the field in the first place.” She cited the 2010 ADA Standards and named several sections she said were implicated.
Brian Murray, a Mesa parent who said he also coaches and announces at Red Mountain events, said parents and booster groups have repeatedly raised the same concerns over the school’s nearly 40‑year history, and that boosters have sometimes paid for portable units. Murray said the district is spending “tens of thousands of dollars annually on porta john services as a temporary solution,” and asked for a formal commitment and timeline for permanent facilities: “At some point, we have to say enough is enough.”
A recent Red Mountain graduate, Payton Wester, told the board she and teammates have been walked in on because locks are broken, that athletes have changed in cars when no changing facilities are available, and that restroom conditions — including clogged toilets and lack of running water — have deterred family members from attending games.
Board members did not vote on facilities action during the meeting. Several members acknowledged hearing the concerns and noted the speakers had supplied photos and documentation to district staff; staff encouraged board members to rely on follow‑up with administration and site leaders. The public presenters asked the board to direct staff to produce a publicly available timeline for design and construction of permanent ADA‑compliant restroom facilities and to prioritize accessibility fixes at Red Mountain’s athletic complex.
The meeting record shows no immediate formal motion to initiate design or capital funding for a restroom project; instead commenters were told staff would follow up and that the district would review documentation provided. The Board did not debate or adopt an action resolving the request during this session.
Next step: presenters requested a public timeline and formal district commitment; the board and staff indicated follow‑up would occur after the meeting.
