Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The only question for the District 186 school board, in crafting tougher and more consistent student cell phone policies, is whether to spend upwards of $200,000 on special pouches that would hold – and disable – the phone during the school day.
During debate Monday, some board members wanted to try less expensive options first, while others wanted to start directly with the Yondr brand pouch.
“That is the most restrictive form, so we just had open conversation” Monday, said superintendent Jennifer Gill after the meeting. “I think the best thing to do with the board right now is to let them look at different avenues and different possibilities and give me feedback.”
The consensus is that student cell phones in class are unnecessary, distracting, and can lead to bullying and fighting.
Monday’s meeting was the third in the district’s new quarters on Fiat Avenue, off Stevenson Drive. Of the three meetings, the new audio / visual system has worked correctly just once. Monday it didn’t work at all, depriving administrators of using slides during their presentations and shutting YouTube viewers out of the action. When a reporter pressed Gill on the matter, she responded that the district is not required to stream the meetings and that smaller districts in the area do not even try to do it. A frustrated board member Buffy Lael-Wolf complained about the situation during the meeting, only to be told by president Micah Miller not to bash the system’s vendor in public. Board members were told a representative of the company would be at Fiat Avenue Tuesday morning.
