Springfield teachers 'disappointed' after board votes down cellphone pouches for schools

The District 186 Board of Education voted down 5-2 the purchase of Yondr pouches that lock up cellphones or other devices and can only be opened with a specialized magnet.

It would have cost the district $215,000 via ESSR III funds to buy the pouches, which would have arrived about six weeks into this school year.

Just before that vote, board members unanimously approved implementing a consistent phone policy for middle and high schools.

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Buffy Lael-Wolf, Debi Iams, Anthony Mares, Erica Austin and Sarah Blissett all voted "no." President Micah Miller and Ken Gilmore voted "yes."

Iams said she didn't see the Yondr technology as "some panacea that solves every problem.

"There still will be problems if we spend all this money on these pouches and if we're going to have problems, then let's do it by implementing a consistent procedure and mechanisms to enforce that."

Superintendent Jennifer Gill said the district was concerned about the number of bullying reports initiated by cellphones. Students also have been using them to record fights which are posted to social media sites.

Blissett contended her "no" vote was not saying that "cellphones are not a problem in schools because I think we can probably all consistently agree they are."

Blissett and Austin believed the pouches could be used in more selective circumstances, for instance, for those students who don't adhere to the cellphone policy.

Lael-Wolf said she heard from teachers "who have been intimidated to speak out loud because they feel their piece of the puzzle is not being heard and I want to help bring that to light.

"We need to have stricter policies, and we need to consistently apply those policies to those students who are errant in that behavior."

Iams added that some teachers referred to the pouches as "glorified Ziploc bags."

Gilmore said he liked the idea of the pouches because it was more "cut and dried. It doesn't have to be this ongoing power struggle between teachers and students."

Miller said voting it down was "frustrating" especially because teachers were "screaming for increased security and safety," more vocally at the end of the year .

"I fail to see how stronger language is going to fix the problems we're trying to deal with," Miller added.

Afterwards, Springfield Education Association President Aaron Graves said he was "disappointed" by the vote.

The teachers' union had been in on discussions around cellphones.

Gill said while "a compelling case" was made for Yondr, "board members brought up key points that didn't make them feel comfortable at the time."

The district has a cellphone policy in the student handbook. Middle schoolers must keep cellphones in their lockers during the school day, but the policy is more lenient for high schoolers who can have their cellphones out during lunch period.

Gill acknowledged it is up to individual schools to implement that policy and that's where some inconsistency may come about.

She added that the district will be "shoring up language" so that policies are "consistent across the schools."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield teachers 'disappointed' after board votes down cellphone pouches for schools