Updated school policy: no phones

CLINTONVILLE – Students in the Clintonville School District will not be allowed to use personal communication devices (PCD), which includes cell phones, during school hours.
By a 5-2 vote, the Clintonville Board of Education approved the second reading of the updated policy on PCDs at its Aug. 11 meeting. Board Vice President Kris Strauman and board member Mark Zachow voted against the updated policy.
After much discussion, the board had approved the first reading of the updated policy at its July 28 meeting. Strauman and Zachow also voted against the updated policy at that meeting.
Prior to the vote at the Aug. 11 meeting, Board Treasurer Jason Moder said he saw a lot of feedback on social media since the board approved the first reading of the updated policy. He claimed 75% of the social media feedback was in favor of the updated policy.
Board President Glen Drew Lundt said he saw some negative posts about the updated policy, with some of the posts stating parents would direct their children to not listen to the district’s administration.

“I don’t ever find that acceptable,” Lundt said. “If you have an issue with anything, come to the admin, board, whoever. Reach out and try to work it out, but don’t put your kid in a position where they’re going to get in trouble following what a parent said.”

Updated policy
According to the updated policy, “Students may use PCDs before school (until the first “warning” bell) and after school (after final dismissal). Students are prohibited from being in possession of PCDs during the school day. PCDs are to be turned off or on silent during the school day.”
The policy also states that exceptions to the policy would be approved by an administrator or the IEP team.
Any student who is in possession of a PCD during the school day must surrender it to a teacher or administrator. A confiscated device will be turned off and secured in the school’s office until the end of the day. Multiple offenses may result in requiring a parent to pick up the device.

July 28 discussion
During the discussion at the July 28 board meeting, Kuhn told the board that the majority of the district’s administrative team “want consistency across the district” regarding its cell phone policy. He said the administrative team is trying to get students more engaged in the classroom, especially at the high school level.”
“The thought behind it is our school scores are not the greatest,” Kuhn said.
The administrative team would like cell phones to remain in lockers during the school day, to be used by students only before and after school, or when a student leaves school grounds, Kuhn said.
He added that the Clintonville Middle School enforced that last year to much success. He said it was a little “rocky” the first few weeks of school, but engagement between students and teachers increased during lunch and recess.

“I think we also need to do some professional development with staff on how to appropriately address cell phones with students,” Kuhn said. “You know, respect, responsibility.”
Kuhn acknowledged that some parents in the district have told their children that if they ever feel bullied or their anxiety is high, they should contact them via their cell phone and the parent would come to the school.
“I don’t necessarily think we have a major bullying problem here at Clintonville, we take care of that,” Kuhn said. “But I do see a couple of those kids, very rare situations, I’m talking like 1 out of 100, where that kid does not have their cell phone, they’re probably going to be homeschooled.”
Clintonville’s decision on cell phones is being monitored by several districts in the state, Kuhn said. He said one district is considering spending around $9,000 to purchase bags for students to put their cell phones in. Another district is considering installing metal detectors at the school.
“If you get rid of the cell phone, maybe more engagement, maybe test scores would go up,” Kuhn said.
If the board approved the administrative team’s recommendation for cell phones in the district, Kuhn said he informed the administrative team that administrators better not tell parents it’s that way because that’s what the board policy is.
“That admin is going to be in my office because that’s not the way I roll,” Kuhn said. “You need to teach parents. You need to teach students.”
Kuhn said there would be exceptions to the cell phone policy for medical reasons.
“There’s people that now monitor blood, their insulin,” Kuhn said.
Board member Ben Huber asked Kuhn what the district’s response would be if a parent threatened to remove their child from the district if the recommended policy were approved.
Kuhn said he is currently dealing with a couple of parents who have indicated they would remove their child from the district if the recommended policy were approved. In those cases, Kuhn said the district would need to get an order from a doctor for that student. The other scenario would be if a cell phone is needed by special education student.
If the recommended policy would be approved, Kuhn said parents could still email their children during the school day, as students have their Chromebooks.
Zachow made a motion for the district to continue with its current cell phone policy.
Prior to the vote, Moder told the board that the board continually asks the administrative team how the board can help. He added that after watching the previous board meeting, he felt members of the administrative team were not “treated the best.”
“They asked us for their help and it wasn’t given,” Moder said. “I look at it this way, the proofs in the numbers. The steady decline of the high school testing scores is proof in itself. Something has to be done.”
The motion failed 3-4. Moder, Lundt, Board Clerk Klint Barkow, and board member Christopher Hoffmann voted against keeping the policy the same.
Moder immediately made a motion to approve the policy recommended by the district’s administrative team.