Parents press Liberty district over vaping in school restrooms

At the public‑comment portion of the meeting, a parent who said she works at the school described chronic vaping in restrooms and urged the district to take stronger action after her daughter developed bronchitis.

The parent said the problem occurs in both the high school and middle school restrooms and that the school’s mission to protect student safety makes the issue urgent. She asked why simple devices (for example, detectors that cost several hundred dollars) are not used and why doors or access have not been altered to deter vaping.

Administrators and staff responded with operational constraints. One administrator said that the district has closed specific restrooms in the past where misuse was concentrated, and that removing stall doors can create safety and choke‑point problems. Another staff member said he had surveyed neighboring districts and found vape detectors often produce nuisance alarms and do not reliably identify individual users; he said detectors alone had limited deterrent effect.

Staff also noted the district offers an anonymous reporting line that routes to building principals, counselors, a deputy and the superintendent, and that staff interview students when incidents are reported. The district acknowledged enforcement can be labor‑intensive and that peer pressure and intimidation can complicate anonymous reporting.

Administrators said consequences (including athletic suspensions under the athletic code) have been applied in some cases. The board and staff said they will continue to consider tools and approaches, including increased awareness, reporting and reasonable disciplinary responses.