by Marcus Washington
ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. – The Robertson County School board allowed individual schools to fine students up to $50 for using their cell phone without permission during school hours.
In this day and age, it's hard to find a teenager without a cell phone.
"Texting, some people have Internet, Facebook, whatever else you use. You can look up videos all that," said Greenbrier High School senior Rebecca Sartain.
Cell phones have become what some people call, "an extension of a teenager's hand" and Sartain can be called a repeat offender for using her phone during school hours.
"You have to pay $20 the first time and $30 the second time, so I had to pay $30," said Sartain.
Starting during the 2010 – 2011 school year, Greenbrier High School was the only school in the county where students were charged a fee for breaking the cell phone rule.
The first offense was $20 and upped $10 for every additional time caught breaking the cell phone rule, not to exceed $50.
"We don't want to eliminate educational benefits, but at the same time we want to take away those disruptions or issues that may come up," said GHS principal Steve Sorrells.
Before it was put in place more than 50 percent of the GHS's in-school suspensions were because of cell phone violations. Since it started the program, that number has gone down and the response in the community has been pretty good.
"I am told some students are good enough to text without looking at it. So, if it was in my pocket, I could be texting multiple choice answers to my friend across the way," said Sorrells.
The pilot was such a success at Greenbrier, the county school board decided to allow all schools in the county to use the pilot during the 2011- 2012 school year.
Coopertown Middle School is the only school that opted out saying there was no serious cell phone violation problem.
Last school year, GHS collected around $2,000.
Any money collected at school for cell phone violations much go into the perspective school's technology fund. That money can only be used to purchase educational electronic equipment.
"The parents may not have really appreciated the consequence because it is money, but at the same time I was very pleased with the response of the community," Sorrells said.
It can be an expensive lesson, one that students said if you haven't leaned, you will.
"Yes, I barely use it anymore, even though I want to," Sartain added.
The program is only a pilot, but the school board can look at making it a policy at the end of the school year if it is found necessary.
Email: mwashington@newschannel5.com
