This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

School Board to Vote on Student ID, Cell Phone Policies

School board member Lanita Lum wants to do away with student identification badges and change a district cell phone policy.

It’s possible that students will not be required to wear identification badges starting next year if the school board votes in favor of doing away with the policy at the May 7 board meeting.

School board member Lanita Lum introduced the idea at the April 23 meeting during discussions about the 2012-2013 school handbook.

“I don’t see any relevancy or purpose for students to have IDs around their neck every day,” she said.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Assistant superintendent Carl Atkinson told the board that the ID badges are a part of a district-wide safety and security policy that has been in place for years.

Lum said she does not think the badges are a helpful security tool and calling them “silly.”

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“How many kids (from other districts) do you know that are trying to sneak into our schools?” she asked.

School board member Charles Bartolet adamantly disagreed with Lum about the ID badges.

“I want safe buildings where students can feel safe to work,” Bartolet said.

Currently, students are given verbal warnings the first two times they fail to wear their student identification badges. The third time, students are given an after-school or Saturday detention.

In addition to the student ID badges, Lum said she believes students should be allowed to keep their cell phones--turned off--with them during the school day.

“I agree completely that kids should not have their cell phones turned on during the day,” she said. “I do have a problem with them keeping their phones in their lockers. They should always have access to a personal cell phone (in case of emergencies).”

In other business, the board voted 7-2 to reject the administration’s proposal for a dean of students at Saucon Valley High School.

High school vice principal Lorie Gamble told the board that 75 percent of her day consists of dealing with student disciplinary issues--many of which are small infractions.

The proposed dean of students, teacher Matthew Evancho, would have dealt with the small infractions, freeing up Gamble to focus on mentoring, coaching, scheduling and building a rapport with the students.

Some school board members cited their concern over taking a teacher away from teaching as the reason for the no vote.

School board member Ralph Puerta said he would like to look at other avenues to allow Gamble to receive help with handling the disciplinary issues.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?