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Hernando County schools will soon allow cell phones
By ROBERT KING, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Middle and high school students in Hernando County will be able to carry cell phones starting next month in a move intended to counter the expected demise of pay phones on campus. Cell phones, like their cousins the pager, have been banned from schools for years because of their power to disrupt classes. There has also been concern that pagers (and, to a lesser extent, cell phones) might help in drug sales at school. But principals want students, particularly those on campus at night for extracurricular activities, to have a reliable way to call home for a ride once the pay phones are gone. "We're trying to treat (students) with some dignity by recognizing that there are some situations where they might need a cell phone," said student services director Jim Knight. Although students will be allowed to carry the phones to class, they won't be able to use them at will. The change to the student code of conduct, approved Tuesday night by the School Board, allows for use of the phones only before or after school or during lunch. Those used during class can be confiscated and the students using them punished. The new rule takes effect Feb. 1. The ban on pagers, now state law, remains in effect. Both cell phones and pagers remain outlawed for elementary school students. Meagan Shaw, a 16-year-old junior at Hernando High, plans to get a cell phone soon. She predicts times -- when she needs a ride, when there's a family emergency -- when a cell phone could prove useful. "I think as long as they aren't interfering with class, it's fine," Shaw said. Even now, Shaw said, some students carry cell phones and pagers without teachers and administrators knowing. "Most put them on silent (alert)," she said. Bianca Spera, a 17-year-old senior at Hernando High, keeps a cell phone in her car. With office phones available to students during the day, she doesn't see much use for carrying the cell phone with her, even after the new rule takes effect. Spera, who works as a front-end manager at Winn-Dixie to pay for her phone fees, said the relaxed rules about cell phones might not help students who can't afford all the charges associated with them. For those kids, removing pay phones could be a hardship, she said. School officials say they go out of their way to allow students to make phone calls when there is a legitimate need. "I wish I had a quarter for every time a student has used my phone," said Jane Padgett, an assistant principal at Hernando High. Frequently, athletic teams arrive at campus late at night after road trips. Coaches lend their cell phones to kids who call their parents for a ride. Or they open their offices to let kids use their desk phones. Still, they worry about kids falling through the cracks once the pay phones are gone. Knight, the student services director, said phone companies have told administrators at both Central High and Hernando High that they don't plan to replace pay phones once they are broken. The phones simply aren't profitable. There are no plans for pay phones to be installed at the new Nature Coast Technical High School. At least one existing school, West Hernando Middle, is already doing without pay phones. Assistant principal Joe Clifford said students in after-school activities are always with an adult who could provide access to a phone. Hernando County may not be alone in its decision to relax the rules on cell phones. The issue is being considered in Pinellas and has been talked about in Pasco. While concerned about cell phone thefts and mischief, school officials say they also realize that cell phones are a part of many lives these days. "Everybody out there has them now," Padgett said. -- Times staff writer Robert King covers education in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com.
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From today's Hernando Times |
