Too many concerned citizens. Too small of a building. And another delay.

A less-than-ideal space situation prompted the Clark County School Board of Trustees to abruptly pull a controversial agenda item Thursday night about a proposed gender-diverse policy. It’s the second time in less than a month that trustees have taken no action on the matter.

So many community members flocked to the board meeting Thursday that school police were turning people away at the door. Several people complained and expressed concerns about potential Open Meeting Law violations, district spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said. Trustees recessed and conferred with district lawyers before deciding to postpone the agenda item.

Board President Deanna Wright told the crowd that the discussion would be held at a future date in a larger venue. The decision unleashed frustration from many attendees — some of whom arrived an hour or more before the meeting began to secure a seat and chance at public comment.

Christi Butterfield, a member of Las Vegas Trans Pride, said the continued indecision is only putting students with diverse gender identities or expressions in harm’s way.

“We’re going to keep coming,” Butterfield said. “The bottom line: If something ever happens to one child, those idiots are going to have to live with it.”

Amidst the angry chatter, however, were grateful attendees. Parent Ulises Rodas, who has two children in the school district and one in college, said he arrived an hour before the meeting but still couldn’t gain access. Instead, he was stuck outside.

“We are glad they canceled it because we want to be in a bigger place where everyone is heard,” he said.

The trustees had planned to review and discuss recommendations from a gender-diverse working group at Thursday night’s meeting. They could have directed staff to create a gender-diverse policy, regulation or guidelines based off those recommendations.

During a special board meeting last month, district staff presented the working group’s recommendations to trustees. Ultimately, the three-hour meeting ended with no vote — hence the same agenda item this week.

The debate dates back to June when Trustee Carolyn Edwards suggested the district form a working group to look into a gender-diverse policy. The school board authorized Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky to create such a group.

The working group — which consists of parents, community members, staff and students — spent several months examining policies in other districts and developing recommendations. The group recommended categories such as restroom access, privacy and disclosure, names and pronouns and overnight field trips be included in any forthcoming policy, regulation or guidelines.

The Nevada Department of Education has been working on a statewide regulation that will serve as the framework for individual district policies. Senate Bill 225 requires the state to provide a regulation that ensures a safe and respectful learning environment for students with diverse gender identities and expressions.

State Superintendent Steve Canavero, who attended the Clark County board meeting, said that regulation will be up for adoption during a March 30 hearing.

“The state adopts an umbrella (regulation) that is broad enough for the district to fill in the lanes,” he said, describing the relationship between the state regulation and future district policies. “We provide the guardrails and then the districts fill in the gaps.”