A Georgia school district has reversed course on its transgender inclusive bathroom policy after administrators say they received death threats over the new guidelines. The Pickens County School District cited “many serious safety concerns” in a Wednesday statement that explained its decision to stop permitting trans students to use facilities that aligned with their gender identity. Transgender students in the district, which is located about 60 miles north of Atlanta, will now be allowed to use single-stall private bathrooms formerly reserved for teachers and other staff.

Parents in Pickens County pack a meeting to talk about gender neutral bathrooms in the high school. #fox5atlpic.twitter.com/o7eYtK86bZ — denisedillon (@DillonFox5) October 15, 2019

“There have been death threats, student harassment, and vandalism of school property,” school officials wrote in the statement. “The District understands and acknowledges that it has the responsibility to protect its staff and students. However, the District has concerns that it may not be able to meet these recently increased demands.” The announcement came two days after a heated school board meeting about the bathroom policy reportedly drew almost 600 people, a sizable showing given that Pickens County has just over 30,000 residents. Those who spoke out during the three-hour meeting were fiercely divided on the issue. “I would never in my life use a restroom in which a female is in,” Nathan Barfield, a father of two, told WXIA, an Atlanta-based NBC affiliate. “No person’s rights are more important than anyone else. My son has a huge heart and he doesn’t want to say anything for fear that he is going to be labeled a bully.”

Threats of lawsuits and removing school board members during a Pickens County town hall meeting concerning gender neutral bathrooms #fox5atlpic.twitter.com/MdZe9lJTZE — denisedillon (@DillonFox5) October 15, 2019