The Allen School Board recently hired longtime Allen teacher and basketball coach Greg Mills to be junior high/ high school principal.

However, Mills was first hired during a special meeting held July 7th as Dean of Students, but he will be acting junior high/ high school principal while he completes his principal certification.

At the board’s regular meeting Monday, procedures concerning new laws were discussed.

Superintendent Cindy A. White said the school system will be developing procedures and protocols in relation to Oklahoma Senate Bill 139, which is a “bell to bell” cell phone ban for students during the 2025-26 school year.

All state school districts must comply with the law in the upcoming school year, but the restriction will be optional for 202627 school year and beyond.

“The law states that from bell to bell, there’s no cell phone usage on campus (by students) during the school day,” White said. “No headphones, no personal devices, nothing. So, we’ll be developing procedures to navigate all that.”

Board members indicated that they believe there will be a mixed reaction among parents concerning the law -- with some parents being glad that the distraction of cell phones will be eliminated so students can better learn, but some parents will be upset because they won’t be able to communicate with their children during the school day.

However, it was indicated that if a parent wishes to get in touch with their child during school hours, they may call the office.

School board members discussed an incident last year where parents received a text informing them about a lockdown at the schools, but no information on why the schools were on lockdown was included in the first text, which left many parents panicking.

It was indicated during the meeting that the priority is to get it out there as quick as possible to alert parents that something is happening at the school, get everything situated, and then alert parents as quickly as possible why the schools were placed on lockdown.

It was also indicated that perhaps a first text alerting parents about a lockdown/ emergency should include information that the students are safe, if applicable.

Concerning the cell phone ban, White mentioned something she’s used in the past called a “Yondr Pouch,” where a cell phone can be placed in the pouch and used only in the case of an emergency. When a student arrives at school, their cell phone is placed in the pouch which is then locked for the remainder of the day, then unlocked prior to leaving the school.

In case of emergency, the student can use scissors to open the pouch and access the phone, but the pouch will be destroyed in the process.

Yondr Pouches cost about $35 each.

“And that’s just something for us to look at,” White said. “One thing that is nice about it is that the child keeps that on them so if there is an emergency, the child can just take a pair of scissors (and cut open the pouch).”

White also spoke about Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ school meal reform.

In early July, Walters indicated parents having to pay for school lunches amounted to a “third tax,” and announced he will be implementing “free, healthy meals for all Oklahoma Students.” However, it was also indicated that school districts will receive no additional money for the measure, and that school systems must utilize existing state and federal funds.

School districts are expected to submit a budget to Walters’s office for review, and, if “a school district’s budget cannot cover the costs of meals for all students, the OSDE (Oklahoma State Department of Education) will suggest cost-cutting measures and request that the budget be re-submitted.”

“So, we will be waiting for additional guidance from OSSBA (Oklahoma State School Boards Association), and then also from the state department of education,” White said. “In the meantime, I’ll be determining the potential cost to the district to provide such meals.”

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the June 9, 2025, and June 26, 2025 Regular Meetings and July 7, 2025, Special Meeting; fiscal year 2025-2026 Purchase Orders and Encumbrances: General Fund numbers 96 through 109 ($6,665.70); Child Nutrition Fund number 22 – ($1,000); Sinking Fund number 1 ($499,800); 2025 Transportation Fund number 1 ($276,932) ; Treasurer’s Report; Activity Fund Report; Oklahoma State Minimum & Allen Salary Schedule for Teachers for fiscal year 2026; Allen Support Staff Salary Schedules for fiscal year 2026; and 20252026 Travel Requests numbers 1 through 9 – Coaches Clinic, Career Tech Summer Conference

Action Items

In action items, the board approved sanctioning outside booster clubs for fiscal year 2025, including Football Boosters, Basketball Boosters, Baseball Boosters, Cheer Boosters, Softball Boosters, Ag Boosters and Native American Club Boosters.

Executive Session

The board entered into executive session, and upon returning, approved the contracts of employees more than 11 months, and the extra duty assignments and pay.