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Do Children Have Rights of Privacy and Protection At Riverside High School?

By Contributing Writer on December 8, 2023

December 8, 2023

By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall, Riverside School District taxpayer

I find it quite remarkable that we even have to debate the issue of providing privacy and protection for the students that need to use the bathroom during school hours. The fact that this problem was known to school officials for many years, and the School Board did nothing about it is another reason to question their leadership. New Superintendent Dr. Chris Rateno gets a “pass” because he just joined the school district.

On December 1, 2023, we wrote the following article exposing the bathroom issues at Riverside High School. Special thanks to Ms. Amy Zuren for speaking out at the School Board meeting, and exposing this problem that has existed for many years.

Are There Rights to Privacy & Protection in Riverside School District’s Bathrooms?

We asked Superintendent Dr. Chris Rateno for a copy of any State of Ohio or School Board policies dealing with bathrooms. Dr. Rateno’s response: “The Riverside Local School District Does not have a board of education policy that addresses restroom use for students and/or staff. “

We attended the special School Board meeting on Monday, December 4th that was held to hear from contractors about repairing the buildings. The following video is an excerpt from the meeting dealing with the bathroom issues.

Upon observing the meeting, what struck us as rather odd was the three female Board members’, seemingly, lack of interest in the bathroom issues. Perhaps they felt guilty because of the many years that they have been on the School Board, but have done absolutely nothing to provide protection and privacy for the students.

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In a prior meeting, Board member Tom Hach, who will be leaving the Board this month, mentioned to the Board that the outdoor running track needs to be replaced. We confirmed with the School Treasurer, Mr. Gary Platko, that the replacement cost is estimated to be $500,000!

If you believe that the privacy and protection of the children in bathrooms is more important than a new running track, then we ask that you contact the three School Board members below, and express your concerns with their past decisions not to fix the bathroom issues.

Please tell them to: