Stonington ― In light of a Board of Finance decision to cut $500,000 from the proposed 2024-25 school budget last week, Superintendent Mary Anne Butler presented the Board of Education with a revised school budget, which includes cutting nine positions.

The board voted to approve $479,000 in cuts including three interventionist positions, four full-time substitute teachers, a music teacher from the middle school and an unfilled academic coach position along with several other items.

On Tuesday, Butler confirmed that three certified teachers with the lowest seniority had already received layoff notifications from the district, but noted she was hopeful some of the jobs could be saved because of retirements.

In her initial budget presented in February, Butler proposed cutting the three temporary interventionist positions funded through federal COVID-19 pandemic funding, but the school board voted to restore the positions to the budget.

Butler said one music teacher at the middle school will also lose their job, leaving two music teachers at Stonington Middle School next year. The elementary schools each have a full-time general music teacher and share an instrumental music teacher, and the high school has two full-time music teachers. She said the music program in the district will be reconfigured so that there will be no impact on students.

The substitute teachers will still have the option to work for the district as daily subs, positions which have lower hourly salaries and do not include benefits.

New policy bans student cell phones

The Board of Education also voted to approve a new policy that would separate students from their cell phones at the middle school next year, with members Chris Donahue and Katie Gauthier abstaining.

Last fall, the district participated in a research study by the University of Connecticut looking at the connection between increasing mental health needs in adolescence and the use of social media.

The district will participate in a third phase of the research next year, which includes a providing education on topics such as digital footprint and identity, relationships and communication, cyberbullying, hate speech, and news and media literacy.

Additionally, the school will receive lockable, signal-blocking Yondr pouches free of charge for all students at the middle school.

Student phones will be locked in the pouches at the beginning of the day and unlocked at the end of the school day.

Butler noted she has seen a direct connection between social media and increasing behavioral issues in the district.

“I will tell you that the parents and students that end up in my office for very significant discipline issues, there’s always a social media component to it, and it has escalated this year to a level of meanness that I have never seen,” she said.

She also said studies have demonstrated that students show lower levels of stress when physically separated from their smartphones, and this initiative is part of a broader district focus on addressing the significant rise in mental health needs among the student population.

“Is it the exact right thing? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows,” said school board member Meghan Blanchette, who voted to approve the policy despite noting that, as a parent, the policy made her uncomfortable.

“What we’re doing isn’t working, and I think we need to try something, and I think that might mean making us all a little uncomfortable with change,” she added.

Other board members said they anticipated there would be pushback on the policy from parents and students, but Catherine Statchen, the board student liaison said she supported the decision.

Editor’s note: This version corrects the last name of Board of Education member Chris Donahue.