Cracking down

Rib Lake tightens cell phone usage policy, stops short of complete ban

At the August 28 meeting of the Rib Lake Board of Education, the members of the Board discussed and approved an update to the school district’s cell phone policies in the student handbook at the middle and high school levels. At the middle school level, students will no longer be allowed to have any cellular device including cell phones, smart watches, and earbuds. If the students bring a device to school, the device must stay in their locker the entire school day.

The high school handbook policy is slightly more involved. There will be no cell phones allowed in classes at all. Students will be allowed to use their devices at lunch and during passing times. The first offense for students caught having their phones is that the device is confiscated to be picked up in the office by the student at the end of the day and the teacher calls the student’s guardians. The second offense gets the device confiscated and a phone call home from the high school principal. At the second offense, the device will only be given back to the student’s guardian or guardian appointed adult. The third offense results in the student not being allowed to have their phone in school at all for 90 school days. Said Board Member Karah Grzanna “I feel like if a student doesn't respect this and they lose their cell phone, that's a good time for the parent to have a conversation.”

This change in handbook policy for Rib Lake comes as many school districts, including the Medford School District, update their policies regarding electronic devices. Having cellphones in schools has resulted in an increase in bullying, students being distracted by their de-

See RIB LAKE on page 3 vices in classes, an increase in anxiety among young people, and an increasing prevalence of cheating.

Teachers will also be expected to not be on their phones during instructional times.

In other business:

• The board heard an update on summer school, specifically with swimming lessons. Having two sessions of swimming lessons this past summer allowed more students to learn and there to be no waiting list.

• The board was updated on the status of the facilities project approved during the referendum. The project is still in a design phase that goes into specifics on exactly what will be done and what the true cost will be. Construction will most likely begin in the summer of 2025.

• Board members are looking at going to WiRSA (Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance Conference) and WASB (Wisconsin Association of School Boards) conferences coming up. These are conferences for school board members to gain connections and insight into other school boards across Wisconsin.

• The board heard an update on the new trail project at the Rib Lake School Forest this past summer. They saw pictures of the project in all stages during the presentation. The funds for this project came from the sale of the Westboro School Forest in 2022 and the last cut at the school forest in 2019-2020. The project took a total of 413 volunteer hours. The volunteers were Tami, Cory, and Cole Wiese, Buzz Meyer, Gary Thums, Gary Krueger, Rollie Thums, Scot Broman, Jon Dallmann, Travis Grubbs, Russ Blenert, Jon & Gene Osen, Paul Gabriel, Scott Everson, and Lee Clendening. The next project at the school forest will be adding educational and interactive signage and kiosks.