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Citizens Advisory Committee urges new recording policy, teacher team-building access to buses; board says JROTC reinstatement unlikely
Summary
The Citizens Advisory Committee presented three recommendations to the Winslow Township Board of Education on March 12: tighten rules on in-school recordings that document fights, permit teacher team-building use of buses only under existing facility-use/insurance rules, and explore a possible JROTC reinstatement.
Members of the district's Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) reported to the board on March 12 and presented three primary recommendations: (1) clarify student recording rules so that recordings made on school premises are handled as student misconduct when appropriate (for example, recordings of fights that are then posted online); (2) permit teacher team-building activities to use district buses for off-hours events provided organizers comply with facility-use rules and insurance requirements; and (3) explore reinstating the Winslow Township High School JROTC program.
The board and administrators responded to each recommendation. Administrators said the student recording issue will be revisited as part of the student code of conduct and flagged that recordings that document fights or similar incidents can become separate misconduct matters distinct from the district's cell-phone policy. On the bus-use request, administrators noted that groups wanting to use buses must follow existing use-of-facilities rules and carry the same certificate of insurance required of other community users; a board member raised liability concerns and recommended further review before any preferential treatment for staff.
On JROTC, administrators explained the program's federal funding and participation thresholds: the Department of Defense historically covered roughly 50% of the instructor's salary when a program met participation thresholds, and programs generally need roughly 10% of the student population enrolled (presenters used a district-size example of about 1,500 students requiring ~150 participants) to be viable for sustained DoD support. The district reported low participation in prior years — "we may have had 10 kids" in the last year the program ran — and said lack of sustained participation had led to probationary status and eventual withdrawal of DoD support. Administrators said they did not see a realistic path to immediate reinstatement without substantial, sustained student interest and DoD approval.
The CAC also recommended reinstating a uniform handbook for HSAs, continuing to pursue Chromebook access for grades 7through 12, and supporting teacher retention and team-building initiatives. Board members thanked the CAC for its work and asked administrators to follow up on insurance liability language and student-code clarifications.
No board vote was taken on the CAC recommendations at the March 12 meeting; administrators were asked to return with any required policy language or procedural proposals.
