Citizen Portal
Sign In

Triton members debate bell-to-bell phone ban; principal to convene school council for pilot review

Triton Regional School Committee ยท October 10, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Committee members debated a proposed bell-to-bell cellphone ban at Triton High School and administration said the principal will convene the school council to study options and possibly pilot changes before returning to the committee.

The Triton Regional School Committee spent substantial time Oct. 8 discussing a proposed bell-to-bell cellphone policy at the high school and the possibility of a pilot. Committee member Paul Maiet urged caution and expressed strong opposition to a full-day ban, saying existing procedures largely work and raising concerns about instructional time, teacher autonomy and emergency communications.

"When you've got something that's working and you go to make it more stringent, the chances of kind of overturning the apple cart are very real," Maiet said, urging the committee to support teacher-led solutions and training. He added that in emergency scenarios phones can be vital for communication and that outright bans may hinder safety responses.

Student representative Foster Campbell and other members noted instructional uses for phones, such as recording experiments and using stopwatches, and asked for teacher feedback on classroom impact. A committee member recommended gathering evidence from educators to understand how often devices are needed for instruction.

Administration said Principal Patrick Kelly plans to work with the school councilincluding students, parents and teachersto gather input and consider a pilot. "Nothing would be done without a proposal coming back to you," Brian said; any pilot or policy change would return to the committee for approval. The superintendent suggested a January timeframe for proposals and a FebruaryApril pilot window if the school council chooses to pursue a trial.

No formal policy change was adopted Oct. 8; the committee directed the principal and school council to study options and, if warranted, present a pilot proposal for committee consideration.