Board approves high school student handbook after discussion about phones and lockers

The MSD Martinsville Schools Board of School Trustees approved the Martinsville High School student handbook after brief discussion about cell phone rules and lockers.

Board President Heather Staggs recommended approval of the student handbook and a board member moved the motion; trustees approved it by voice vote. Staggs said, “All in favor signify by stating aye,” and the board recorded the motion as carried.

During discussion a board member asked why the high school cellphone expectations differed from the middle school’s policy and whether students could be required to keep phones in lockers. A trustee who spoke during the discussion said the high school is “a different animal” and that the administration and teachers recommended the current approach. The transcript records: “Our format, which is a good testament to what we were trying to accomplish. But the high school is it's a different animal at the high school than it is at the middle school and that's what the high school administration, was comfortable with.”

The board also discussed plans to restore or replace some high school lockers. A trustee said the district has ordered new inset locks and some loose locks and that replacing older lockers would be expensive, estimating “we're talking about a half a million dollars or so.” The trustee said staff would determine how many existing lockers are usable.

The meeting record shows the board approved the student handbook and later approved the substitute handbook in a separate voice vote. The motions were recorded as carried; no roll-call vote tally was provided in the meeting transcript.