Board approves 2024'25 goals after debate over explicitly naming cell-phone impacts

The Waterford Board of Education voted to approve its 2024'25 goals on a motion that was seconded after extended debate over whether the goals should explicitly call out the effects of student cell-phone use in schools.

A board member proposed adding wording to "support a positive school climate and specifically address the impact in-school cell phone use has on social, emotional and academic health," saying the district should track related outcomes. "I have proposed that under the eighth bullet," the member said during discussion, pressing for language that would surface the issue in board goals.

District leaders responded that the district already maintains a cell-phone policy and that administrators could provide measurable updates. "We actually have a policy on cell phone use," the superintendent said, adding that middle- and high-school administrators could report later in the year on how the new practices are going.

Several board members urged caution about embedding highly specific operational language in high-level goals; one argued the goals should be lofty and that detailed policy refinement belongs in policy committee work. The board agreed to request administrative reports and to consider survey data and other evidence before pursuing formal policy changes.

The motion to approve the goals (as amended during discussion) was moved and seconded; the transcript records the board moving on after asking for reports but does not include a detailed roll-call tally in the record provided.

Next steps: district staff were asked to bring a report later in the school year on how the cell-phone policy and related digital-citizenship education are affecting student engagement and school climate. The board also suggested that the policy committee may consider targeted refinements if administrators recommend them.