Bushda Recommended as Indian Hills Athletics Director ¶
Superintendent Shauna DeMarco recommended Matthew Bushda, a 20-year Indian Hills teacher and administrator who is also an alumnus and parent, as Director of Athletics and Student Activities. DeMarco said he was the unanimous choice of the interview panel.
Two Teachers Named District's First AI and Technology Specialists ¶
Cindy VanderMolen and Michael Paravati were recommended as the district's first AI and technology instructional specialists. Both will coach and support teachers across Ramapo and Indian Hills on responsible use of artificial intelligence and technology while continuing to teach in a reduced capacity.
Board to Consider Retroactive Diploma for Vietnam-Era Veteran ¶
The board is set to award a retroactive Ramapo High School diploma to Edward Peplig, who left school to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. "I was surprised and happy to see that he was going to get his diploma," board member John Kinney said.
Ramapo Elevator Down, Facilities Committee Reviews Scoreboards and Trees ¶
The Finance and Facilities Committee reported the elevator at Ramapo High School is out of service and needs a motherboard replacement, with repairs estimated at two to three weeks. The committee is also weighing LED scoreboard upgrades, with quotes ranging from $117,000 to $237,000, and a multi-year plan to replant 254 trees at Indian Hills at roughly $350 each after the shade tree commissioner confirmed the requirement.
Aging Sewage Plant Costs District $75,000 a Year ¶
The Finance and Facilities Committee said an outdated sewage treatment plant is costing the district approximately $75,000 annually in maintenance and operating costs, and is looking into connecting to public utilities as a possible fix.
District Recoups $612,650 Reselling Laptops ¶
Business Administrator Matt Bouldin said the district has taken in $612,650 so far reselling its three-year-old laptop fleet, offsetting a roughly $1,031,000 payment tied to the district's technology lease rollout.
Education
RIH Drops Storage-Pocket Plan as New State Cell Phone Mandate Takes Effect
Students will keep their phones on them but must power them off and stow them away all day, with no carve-out for lunch or passing periods, under a strict mandate the state's education department spelled out in a July 9 FAQ. The superintendent says it forced the district to abandon a softer draft policy.
Ramapo Indian Hills students will need to power off their cell phones and stow them away for the entire school day this fall — from the opening bell through dismissal, including lunch, passing periods and study halls, with no exceptions for non-instructional time. The district has opted to have students keep their phones on them rather than surrender them to a classroom storage holder, but the devices must stay off and put away unless a student has a policy-approved exception for an identified need, such as a medical condition.
Superintendent Shauna DeMarco told the Board of Education on July 13 that the state's guidance, confirmed July 9, requires this all-day version of New Jersey's cell phone law. "On July 9, the current state administration confirmed they will be upholding the New Jersey law, which requires districts to implement a bell-to-bell policy, meaning that personal devices such as cell phones may not be used in schools from the opening bell through dismissal," DeMarco said — including "lunch, passing periods, study halls, and other non-instructional portions of the regular school day."[1] The state's own FAQ, published that same day, backs her up almost word for word: personal devices must be "off and stored for the entirety of the school day."[5]
DeMarco said it supersedes an earlier district plan that would have permitted limited phone use during non-instructional periods, which "is no longer accommodated under the state's mandated law."[1] A formal policy reflecting the new requirements goes to the board at its August meeting, alongside a late-August community webinar to walk through how it will work.[2][3] More detail is coming on the exception process, including emergency procedures, and the state recommends districts set up an alternate way for parents to reach students during the day — the main office, a student email account, or a messaging portal — since phones themselves will be off.[2][5]
RIH's mandate covers only the regional high school district. Wyckoff's K-8 district has its own phone policy, last revised in 2016, restricting use during the school day.[6]
The board's policy committee had already anticipated the bell-to-bell timeframe when it met July 9, but not how the state would require it to be enforced. Board member Othiamba "O.T." Lovelace, reporting for the committee, said it had been planning to buy clear storage pockets so students could hand in their phones for the day. "At that time, we were acting under the presumption that there would be a lengthy ban and that they would restrict cell phone usage during the morning bell through the end of the day," Lovelace said. After that meeting, the district decided students would keep their phones on them, powered off, rather than surrender them to a collection system — making the storage pockets unnecessary.[4] Those pockets will not be used next year.
The cell phone policy was one of several items the policy committee is preparing for the board, alongside revised rules allowing board-meeting and bid-advertisement notices to be posted on the district's website instead of exclusively in newspapers, and changes to the New Jersey Family Leave Act that lower the eligibility threshold for district employees from 12 months and 1,000 hours of employment to three months and 250 hours.
Every claim in this article is drawn from public Wyckoff records. To dispute a fact, request a fact-check, or ask that personal information be removed, contact the ombudsman.