NORTH HAVEN

The North Haven Board of Education (BOE) has terminated a substitute teacher at Green Acres Elementary School for “inappropriate bathroom usage” at the school, said education leaders. However, other factors surrounding the incident have caused heated social debate among North Haven parents and town residents, culminating in public comments expressed at a BOE meeting on Oct. 10.

The incident of focus took place in September, when a substitute teacher at Green Acres, who identifies as non-binary, used one of the restrooms at the school which is typically used by students while wearing a gender-nonconforming style of attire.

BOE Chair Ron Bathrick told The Courier that the use of the bathroom was an “egregious offense” and that the teacher was terminated from their position at the school while no longer being allowed around the grounds of Green Acres.

While Bathrick said that gender identity played no role in the teacher’s termination, it was that aspect which resulted in social media conversation between North Haven parents. State officials, local officials, and members of the LGBTQ+ community viewed numerous online comments as hateful toward the Green Acres staff member and offensive toward North Haven district students and faculty who also identify as part of the queer community. Concerns expressed online carried over into the Oct. 10 BOE meeting during the public comment part of the agenda.

Residents who spoke on the matter were split. Some asked the BOE if additional steps could be taken to ensure an incident like this does not occur again out of concern for the mental and physical well-being of their young children.

Parent Megan King asked if it was “possible that we do our due diligence” and only hire teachers similar to the former Green Acres substitute on the basis that they teach in higher-grade levels with students “who kind of understand the world a little bit better.”

“I am not against anything or what anybody wants to be in their life,” she said to the BOE. “But it’s not appropriate for a five-year old to experience that, and you are not giving us the due diligence as parents to let us know that these individuals are in this school.”

Bathrick responded to King’s comments by saying, “It’s not for me to determine” at what age it’s appropriate for children to be around teachers of a certain gender or lack thereof, adding that the “fact remains that that teacher was qualified to teach in that position.”

Bathrick went on to say that calling out teachers based on their gender identity, sexuality, or ethnicity in relation to the appropriateness of their location in the school district would appear to be a discriminatory practice.

King responded by saying, “I’m not discriminating. I don’t want my child near that,” and asked about the option of an opt-out form for children to be removed from classrooms which have teachers similar to the substitute. Bathrick said that the BOE will not issue opt-out forms for that reason.

The BOE also heard from resident Angela Mastroianni, who said the substitute’s preferred pronoun of Mx. was "inappropriate” and inquired about rewriting school dress codes in a teacher contract.

“Can’t that be rewritten in the contract, where if we have to go back to teachers wearing black pants and a button-up shirt. I’m OK with that, if we cover up a man wearing a dress,” said Mastroianni.

In a sign of support for the BOE’s stance, Zip Quinzel asked the BOE to “continue to speak out and show your acceptance” toward district students and staff members who identify as LGBTQ+. They added that parents should not be allowed to have their children removed from a class “just because they don’t like the teacher.”

“If they don’t want their kids to be confused, they can educate their own children, or they can take steps to answer those questions at age-appropriate levels by doing their own research,” said Quinzel. “These are all things that you guys can advocate for parents to do, so that there isn’t this hate and divide in our community causing stress on other students who do experience these things and are being bullied by these parent’s kids or by these parents for having a gender identity that these parents do not agree with.”

When it comes to preventing staff from using bathrooms typically used by students, Bathrick told the public that “there’s nothing you can do to stop that, other than if it happens, you react to it immediately.”

Bathrick assured the public that “teachers know where their bathrooms are, where they’re supposed to go, where they’re not supposed to go.”

When asked about why the broader public was not notified about the incident when it occurred, Bathrick said that “the people who were directly affected by that were notified,” and that the BOE wanted to be sensitive in regard to the ages of the students affected in their dissemination of the information.

For students who may feel emotionally affected by incidents like the one at Green Acres, there are in-school services which they can access, said Superintendent Patrick Stirk.

“There are support staff within the schools—social workers, classroom teachers—any trusted adult that the child feels comfortable speaking with,” said Stirk. “We encourage parents and children to reach out and do that.”

North Haven Pride (NHP) issued a statement the day after the meeting, characterizing comments made by several members of the public as “hateful and a direct assault on the dignity and humanity of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“North Haven Pride categorically rejects the transphobic and discriminatory statements made by the majority of the commenters,” NHP’s statement continues. “It is deeply troubling that this kind of intolerance continues to surface in our community.”

In light of comments made at the BOE meeting, NHP recognizes that “there is much work yet to be done” to improve “the climate in North Haven and culture of inclusion for all students, faculty and staff.” NHP called on education leaders to take immediate actions which include “correcting factual errors shared with the public” regarding the situation and to “implement professional development for all school personnel on safe educational environments for LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff.”

In its statement, NHP concluded that, “It is time for North Haven to take meaningful steps toward becoming a truly safe and inclusive place for everyone.”