Eagle Point School Board member wants changes to menstrual bill

EAGLE POINT, Ore.– An Eagle Point School Board member is petitioning the state, hoping to stop a state bill that will provide menstrual products in all student bathrooms in schools.

The bill passed with near-unanimous bi-partisan support last July, including the support from all three gubernatorial candidates.

Chery Stritenberg said the bill was originally intended to provide products like tampons in female and gender neutral bathrooms.

She said the wording of the bill was changed to include boys bathrooms, which she says makes for unnecessary spending.

The chief sponsor of the bill told The Oregonian that providing menstrual products in all bathrooms was to help students who don’t identify as male or female or are transitioning between genders.

Stritenberg said the goal of her petition is to remove them from boys bathrooms to save additional funding.

“There are so many other services between special education and other needs where we could utilize this money. This just seems like a waste and not a good use for the funds that we have for our schools that are very limited,” Stritenberg said.

The Oregon Department of Education is inviting public comment on the bill until the 20th.

After the public comment period the department will decide if they want to have a rule-making session to revise the bill.

7/12/22 UPDATE: The Eagle Point School District released the following statement in regard to this story:

“Eagle Point School District 9 is fully complying with the law and associated administrative rules of the Menstrual Dignity Act. Mrs. Stritenberg is a valued and respected member of the EPSD9 Board of Directors. With regard to Mrs. Stritenberg’s petition to the ODE regarding the Menstrual Dignity Act, she is acting as a private citizen, as is her right, and not as a representative or spokesperson of the EPSD9 Board of Directors.”