A Yondr cell phone pouch and magnetic unlocking device are demonstrated, in this screenshot taken from a video shown at a recent Dunkirk Board of Education meeting.

Dunkirk City School District is set to enact a proposal for lockable smartphone pouches.

Josh Tedone, the 11th and 12th grade principal, talked about it at this month’s Dunkirk Board of Education meeting. Tedone originally made the proposal in June, and it seemed very timely last week, shortly after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for consideration of a ban on phones in classrooms.

Dunkirk’s school district will acquire pouches from Yondr that can be locked at the start of the school day, then magnetically opened at day’s end so kids can retrieve their phones. The Board of Education is supportive of the proposal, or at least has made no criticism of it.

“I have not been able to find (another) product to completely remove the phone’s access but still have students be able to keep it in their possession throughout the day,” Tedone said. “I think that possession piece is really, really important. I also think it’s really important doing something that completely keeps the temptation away.”

Tesone continued, “We’ve secured funding and we are ready to order. I do believe the final cost is approximately $39,000,” for staff training, pouches, tech support and enough unlocking devices for every classroom.

“I think it’s really important for the Board of Education to know and the community to know, this is not coming from the general budget. We may need a few thousand dollars to secure the additional unlocking devices,” but most of the funding will come from a grant.

A letter will go out to parents and staff about the pouches and Tedone is looking at Wednesday and Aug. 14 for community forums.

“We’re working on locking and unlocking procedures,” Tedone continued. “Every conversation with this is another conversation. How do we get in touch with that kid? What do we do in this situation here? What do we do if someone breaks into a bag? What do we do if someone sneaks a phone? There’s certainly a lot to this. I think an important piece to this is going to be a simplistic flow chart of communication to the community. I need to talk to my kid, what do I do?

Speaking to the issue of cell phone usage in emergencies, Tedone said kids are not supposed to use them during lockdowns if they are following the protocols. Dunkirk Police Chief David Ortolano will be asked to speak about the issue from a professional standpoint during the community forums.