Fort principal creates penalties to curb student cellphone use

FORT RECOVERY - Fort Recovery High School Principal Jeff Hobbs has instituted new penalties to curb out-of-control cellphone use by students.

Violators will have their phones confiscated and must serve a Saturday school. The seized phones can be retrieved only by parents, he added.

"To a great kid, a Saturday school is like the death penalty," Hobbs told board of education members at Tuesday night's regular meeting.

Students technically aren't supposed to have cellphones in the high school, but that rule is a joke because every kid possesses one, Hobbs said.

"I wanted to leave (the rule) in the book but I wanted to use common sense with it as well," he said.

Any student needing to call or text parents can do so any time of the day by going to the office, Hobbs said. All other uses are prohibited, he said.

Hobbs initially established a policy that included confiscation of cellphones until the end of the school day for first-time violators. A second violation resulted in two detentions and a student's parents coming to school to pick up the phone.

But students continued to use their cellphones, Hobbs said.

"We had kids texting on cellphones, going to the bathroom to make a call, taking pictures, listening to music, just crazy," he said.

Hobbs then implemented a new system requiring teachers to have a "cellphone parking lot." At the beginning of each class, students must deposit their phones on the teacher's desk or keep them turned off in their pockets. If they leave class for any reason, they must drop it off on the teacher's desk.

The new penalty system seems to be working, Hobbs said, noting only four students have been caught violating the rules. The violators are all A-students who have never been in trouble before, he added.

Hobbs tweaked the penalty, reducing the Saturday school from four hours to two. Students also must complete two hours of community service, which can include activities such as teaching religion or helping kids with basketball.

Hobbs said he will institute a student-led policy that allows kids to use cellphones for texting and listening to music during lunch only in the commons or gymnasium.

Board members also on Tuesday learned about two ongoing Christmas projects in the middle school and high school.

Middle School Principal Matt Triplett spoke about the annual Operation Christmas Child program. Students filled 109 shoeboxes with practical gifts such as toothbrushes and will send them to places in the world where children need assistance, he said.

Student council led the effort and through fundraisers was able to purchase goods and raise almost $800 for shipping costs, Triplett said.

Diane McClung, the teacher who started the project and retired two years ago, has traveled to Texas the last two years to help prepare the boxes for shipment across the world, Triplett explained.

Hobbs discussed the annual Adopt a Family program, organized by the high school student council and the Future Business Leaders of America. The groups will provide almost $7,000 worth of practical gifts to 14 families in Fort Recovery.

"It's far-reaching, not just gifts at Christmas," superintendent Shelly Vaughn said.

Business leaders who helped with the program also are trying to aid some of the unemployed parents find work.

"I know for sure there's two dads of the families that have job interviews with people here in town," Hobbs said.

Board members Tuesday night also received a breakdown of the cost for the recently completed high school renovation project. The $3.43 million available for the project was used.

The biggest costs were $1.23 million to Muhlenkamp Building Corp. for general construction and $1.19 million to Apex Mechanical Systems Inc. for heating, air conditioning and plumbing.

"It's good to be able to hand this paper to you and say it's done," Vaughn told board members.