Parents and residents press board on hallway fights and phone policy; superintendent says phones returned at dismissal

Multiple members of the public raised concerns about student fights, cellphone use and after-school behavior near local businesses during the meeting's public-comment period, pressing the board for policy changes.

A public commenter who identified no formal title asked, "Why do these kids have 2 periods to record fights, and then you see 30 kids in the hallway?" and asked whether phones could be held until the very end of the day to prevent recordings. The commenter also reported seeing groups of students leaving school and taking items from businesses near the school.

Superintendent Dr. Kirillio responded to the concerns, saying the district already returns cell phones at the very end of the day. "Cell phones are returned at both the high school and the middle school every day at the very end of the day," Dr. Kirillio said. She explained at the middle school, "children return to homeroom. They're in homeroom at 02:10, and then when dismissal starts at 02:20, they're given their cell phone when they walk out the door." She said the videos in question showed fights that occurred as students were exiting to buses, not at an earlier point in the day.

Board members and staff said adults intervened immediately in the incident referenced by commenters. Administrators said they would continue to work with families and with school safety staff, and the district's safety director was taking notes on community behavior concerns. Several public commenters also urged better coordination with local businesses (Sheetz, Family Dollar and others) and requested the district consider ways to discourage problem behavior in nearby commercial areas after dismissal.

The board did not adopt a change to the district cell-phone policy at the meeting; administrators said they would continue to monitor incidents and meet with families as needed.