Martin County School Board

SCHOOL BOARD WORKSHOP AND SPECIAL MEETING JULY 9. 2024

I never placed much stock in business plans or, for that matter, strategic plans. I see them as a way to feel like something is being done but it just is one more thing to place on a shelf to gather dust. The district has been working on the latter for some time.

The district has involved many people besides school district personnel. The staff have broken up the creation of the plan into sub-committees with different focuses. It is a massive undertaking.

There are many dollars spent in hard and soft costs. And all involved have done so with sincerity and the greatest of good intentions. I can’t help thinking if it is taking resources away from the prime objective which is the education of our kids today will it be worth it.

Bureaucracies thrive on just this type of thing. Consultants grow rich and the results are usually fairly cookie cutter. The school district is no exception to the rule of bureaucracies. It is the largest in the county.

Board member Pritchett said she would like to see quarterly reports and that those reports have a narrative not just checked boxes. Perhaps it will work differently this time.

You can see the presentation here

The staff was tuning up policies for the district. One policy that the board looks like they are keen on implementing is regarding student cell phone use at school. Unfortunately, what was presented to the board for ratification was not what they said they wanted.

Quite simply the board wants the same punishment for any grade from 1st until 12th. The phone is taken away from the student and a parent needs to retrieve it. That is unequivocal. And if it continues, the board already has a policy for continued rule breaking.

Member DiTerlizzi wanted the cell phone returned to the student at the end of the day. The rest felt that would defeat the entire idea. If the student is caught, then they are deprived of the use of the phone for the rest of the day. Free to do it the next day without parental involvement.

The point is that the parent who is paying for the phone has a responsibility just as the child does. In many of her comments on this and other matters, Powers believes in personal responsibility. The others agree.

The inconvenience to the parents of either missing work for an hour or coming at a lunch break or by appointment with the principal is more than adequate. Cell phone use has become a large point of contention in schools. The district has the obligation to enforce this ban during school hours if they believe it will lead to a better learning environment.