RSU 5 school officials and students on Wednesday continued a months‑long discussion about tightening rules on student cellphone use in school, with students urging alternatives to locked pouches and staff signaling openness to tools that would reduce classroom disruptions.

The student member of the leadership team, Phoebe, presented a student survey of 205 responses and told the board the results showed inconsistent enforcement: “a lot of students are landing here at, like, the I see this as they’re asking us, they’re reminding us to pull it up, but they’re not necessarily, like, checking.” Students in the survey strongly opposed mandatory Yondr‑style locking pouches; when asked if the pouches were a good idea the student responses clustered strongly against them. Many students said they want clearer, fairer enforcement rather than a system that feels punitive.

The disagreement matters because administrators and teachers described ongoing classroom time lost to managing phones. Freeport High School principal Jen Gocco summarized staff survey results: of 52 possible high‑school staff, 37 completed a fall survey; roughly 81% of those respondents supported exploring Yondr bags or similar options, while 11% opposed them. “There is this feeling of some teachers of exhaustion of fighting this fight… they have planned this outstanding lesson, and they don’t want to start the first five minutes of arguing with students about [their phones],” Gocco said.

Administrators said the district’s current rule — phones stored out of use in academic settings, allowed between classes and at lunch — has reduced but not eliminated distractions. Assistant Principal Charlie (Freeport High) said the system “started strong” last year but “it became a struggle for our educators to fight this battle every day.” Middle‑school assistant principal Bill Ridge reported mixed staff views at that level: in a separate fall staff survey 54% supported trying Yondr bags, 18% opposed, and others requested more data or conditional use for repeat offenders.

Parent and community advocates who testified at the meeting and earlier public comments have urged board action; outside districts are rapidly experimenting with different models. Parent commenter Annie Ware, co‑founder of the RSU 5 Alliance for Thoughtful Technology, urged a district‑wide “bell‑to‑bell” or “away for the day” approach and asked the board to “launch a clear process this fall. Include student and teacher voices.”

Board members asked for more comparative evidence from nearby districts that have implemented either (a) a full bell‑to‑bell ban with no locking pouches, or (b) pouches such as Yondr. Trustees asked administrators to collect follow‑up data and district staff said they will do outreach to districts including Portland and others currently in transition. The board scheduled further deliberation at its next regular meeting in November and appointed a board member to the policy committee that will draft any formal policy changes.

What remains unresolved is whether the district will pursue a purely behavioral/education approach (digital citizenship and classroom norms) or pair that with a physical tool such as locking pouches. Students and many families told the board they want education, clearer enforcement and alternatives to punitive framing; many teachers say they need a reliable, consistent system to remove the daily burden of policing phones.

The board did not vote on a cellphone policy change Wednesday; it voted, by voice, to add a board member to the policy committee and planned additional information gathering and peer visits before any formal policy change is proposed.