On Tuesday, Aug. 12, Manual’s School Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council held their first monthly meeting of the 2025-26 school year. Principal Dr. Michael Newman, the leader of the council, discussed a small edit to the personal telecommunications policy, the girls’ tennis team’s KHSAA State Championship win, and their plans for September’s meeting.
After outcry from teachers, Newman and the SBDM council decided to clarify proper device storage further in their phone policy, reiterating their expectations with students and how students store their phones. The changes were made due to student-teacher conflict regarding proper storage and if their phone could be kept on their person. The original policy only discussed proper storage in its “Prohibited Use” section and not the “Responsibilities” section, but the newest version of the policy amends this. The policy states that all telecommunication devices must be out of sight of any staff members and powered off from 7:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m., stating “Devices must be powered off and not accessed from 7:30-2:10 and not on their person.”
The council also recognized the Manual girls’ tennis team’s recent KHSAA State Championship win, which is the first one in school history. Brittany Burt, the head coach, attended the meeting to accept Student Spotlight and Staff Spotlight certificates for the team and assistant coach. Kellee Dicks was recognized as the assistant coach, and the players, Audrina Shaefer (11, HSU), Emma Zelichenok (11, HSU), Ella Mohr (11, J&C), Himani Deo (11, MST), Helen Bai (10, MST), Vivien Englund (11, HSU), Manasui Bhavaraju (12, MST) and Katie Dikes, who was the former team captain, were also recognized.
Lastly, the council discussed plans for their September meeting, mainly surrounding clubs. Newman plans to make a school-wide announcement regarding club sign-ups for students in the upcoming weeks. On the coaching and sponsorship side of clubs, Newman also plans to communicate with any potential sponsors that club applications are due to Athletic Director Mr. Zuberman.
The next SBDM meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend.
