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Superintendent previews phone-policy change, concurrent-enrollment shift and facility fixes; flags budget concerns
Summary
Superintendent discussed a proposed phone policy for classrooms, a possible shift of anatomy/physiology concurrent-enrollment credits to South Central, heating-system repairs in the kitchen, and statewide funding uncertainties that may affect district revenue.
The St Clair County Schools superintendent reported multiple items including a proposed cell-phone policy change, possible concurrent-enrollment adjustments for anatomy and physiology, recent heating-system repairs in the school kitchen and concerns about state education funding.
On cell phones, the superintendent said the district’s handbook currently outlines the approach but the board has not formally adopted a policy. The superintendent said she plans to bring a first reading in February and a second reading in March, aiming for a policy effective with the 2025–26 school year that will align closely with Model JWP language used by other districts. She said the change would limit personal device use in classrooms while allowing students to bring phones for use in lockers, at passing time and for end-of-day communications; staff would use common language and consistent classroom reminders. The superintendent also referenced national developments, saying New York’s governor was moving to prohibit phones in school buildings and that some districts have reported academic improvements after limiting phones.
On academics, the superintendent said the district is exploring a change to its concurrent-enrollment arrangement for anatomy and physiology, moving from the University of Minnesota program to South Central (the same instructor would teach) so students could earn eight college credits instead of four. She said the instructor currently teaches in South Central’s program and more information will be provided when available.
Facilities updates included a heating issue in the school kitchen caused by a frozen damper; the district said technicians repaired a major portion of the heating system but some follow-up work remains. The superintendent described an instance when kitchen temperatures fell to about 50–61 degrees during the incident and staff arranged temporary measures.
On district finance, the superintendent relayed concerns from veteran superintendents about state basic revenue and potential budget shortfalls in the coming legislative session, noting uncertainty about how much revenue the state will provide next year.
The superintendent also thanked staff for recent events: a holiday program that distributed about 2,250 books to families, and a spelling bee with grade-level participants and winners; the first-place spelling-bee winner, Sienna Flugam, will advance to the regional competition Feb. 18 at South Central College in Cuenca. The superintendent said more details on student activities and the concurrent-enrollment proposal will be shared at future meetings.
No formal board action was taken on the phone policy or the concurrent-enrollment proposal at this meeting; the phone policy was described as an item the superintendent will bring back for first and second readings.
