Last night our principal Dr. Riskus shared our State of the School address.

In it, he reaffirmed our commitment to equity at all levels of the school.

I voiced a concern: our entire building has one gender-neutral bathroom, and it can only be accessed through the nurses room when the nurse is present. The quality of life of students who identify in a way that does not allow them to comfortably use a bathroom assigned to them by birth is paramount to equal education. This example is only one of many that students contend with. In my opinion, this becomes a matter of a guaranteed accessibility and rights in school to all members of the LGBT+ community.

To complicate such discussions: There are currently unclear rules established as precedent by the Office of Local School Council Relations as they relate to Councils allowing for remote quorum and remote participation.

It should be codified clearly that Local School Councils can call for meetings to be conducted virtually, or partially virtually, as they see best fit for their school and that particular matter.

Tonight’s council meeting of the State of the School address drew an online crowd of over 90 participants, exponentially more than I ever saw attend one of our in-person meetings.

It is a matter of accessibility, which is a requisite for transparency, which is a requisite for accountability.

I took a screen grab here after the voting portion of the meeting had concluded 90 minutes into the meeting and the agenda had moved to public participation.

Our council is made stronger by public participation.