WEYBURN - The new cell phone policy put into place by the Ministry of Education for the new school year has not caused any problems so far in the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division, the board heard at their meeting on Wednesday evening.
The ministry implemented the policy to ban the use of cell phones by students in school, with certain exemptions allowed for high school students if their use is needed with a particular course, and their teachers apply for it with administration.
“We’ve spent a good amount of time going over the new legislation,” said education director Ken Sampson. “It’s not entirely different from the policy in our division.”
He noted that school administrators have communicated the policy to the families in each school, and the administrators and teachers were asked to get any feedback on the issue from parents, or if any difficulties arise from how it’s implemented.
“Any sanctions or consequences would be addressed through the school code of conduct,” he noted.
So far, no concerns or issues have come forward or been sent to the central office, Sampson added.
“Administrators are fairly well-versed as to how they will respond to different circumstances,” said superintendent Chad Fingler, noting the Holy Family policy prior to this provincial policy was to require any student to get permission or supervision to use a cell phone in school, “and that’s still our practice.”
As before, any cell phone use would be during non-instructional time, and the main difference now is a student would be directed to use a school device and not their own, he explained.
The board was also told that any issues or difficulties that might come up will be documented and forwarded to the central office.
• In other board business, the proposed budget for the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) was brought forward, to be voted on in December by the member school boards from around the province at their fall assembly.
The budget is proposing a 9.5-per-cent increase in membership fees, which for some boards “will be a shock”, with the increase translating to a $3,800 increase for Holy Family, said board chair Bruno Tuchscherer.
“I know Regina for one is complaining, because they don’t use all of the services,” he said, noting there is a board chair meeting coming up soon, and it’s expected there will be much more said there.
“It’s going to be a tough sell,” noted trustee Karen Melle.
“I think it’s unreasonable,” added Samson, noting that from his past experience, there are going to be school divisions calling the SSBA to task for such a large increase.
It was noted that the SSBA’s budget has to receive approval from two-thirds of the association members to pass.
