CAMANO: School Board tensions continue to flare at meeting, study session
Isabella Loy reports from the Stanwood-Camano School District board meeting of Tue., Nov. 5, 2024 for the Stanwood Camano News.
The Stanwood-Camano School District Board of Directors met Tuesday, Nov. 5, to hear a technology update and work on developing a districtwide cell phone policy.
The board also held a study session [to discuss the Academic Advisory Committee] after the meeting, which was adjourned abruptly due to hostility between the board and attendees.
They Said It
“I don’t see a great need for cell phones in the schools,” board President Al Schreiber said at the Aug. 30 special board meeting. “We provide the Chromebooks on our network to do their schoolwork, and when they have their cell phone out unsupervised, then we’re not sure what they’re watching or doing.”
Director Betsy Foster said she looked into policies across the nation, and that she prefers the “most strict.”
Foster said she did not feel she could approve the policy without knowing how students would be disciplined if it was not followed.
“I think the policy looks reasonable, but I can’t approve it until we see the procedure and the consequences if this policy is not followed,” she said.
Board Vice President Charlotte Murry disagreed, reminding Foster that for a procedure to be developed by district staff, a policy must first be approved by the board.
“Per our protocol, we need to create the policy before we create the procedure,” Murry said. “So how can we talk about procedure when the policy has not been approved yet?”
Foster added that she felt the board should be included in the process of student discipline for cell phone issues.
“I would also like included in the policy that we get a report on all of these offenses the minute they happen,” she said.
Foster said she felt there are already policies in schools that are not being followed, so the board policy should not move forward until she could see procedures.
Recently, Schreiber revealed that there will also be an Academic Task Force — which he said would work in small groups and research specific subjects.
“When you started at the beginning, you said that the academic task force would recommend policies for improvement,” [Superintendent Deborah] Rumbaugh said. “I think what I’m hearing some conversations around are programmatic options for students … I don’t know that that aligns with policy recommendations for improvement. So what I heard you say was very wide, and now I’m hearing things very narrow.”
Murry also expressed interest in knowing who would be serving on the committee.
“Question is, what are the requirements for these people to be on the task force? Is there one person that is a specialist in ELA? Is there a specialist in science? Is there someone who is a specialist in drama?” she asked. “This is what I want to know, because it doesn’t matter what the ideas are. You’re trying to put the cart before the horse.”
Schreiber did not clarify what specific requirements he is looking for in task force members or how many subjects would be covered.
Toward the end of the meeting, Foster brought up standardized test scores and said she would like a task force or committee to look at improving those.
She described the district as “failing” because of its Smarter Balanced Assessment scores.
You guys have weaponized these test scores against the students,” Director Miranda Evans said. “When I talk to students … you make them feel bad. You make them feel bad about themselves.”
