Sep 10, 2007 5:55 pm US/Eastern
Mayor's Veto On Cell Phones In Schools Overridden
City Council Prepared To Battle Bloomberg To The End
by Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The fight over the ban on cell phones in New York City schools heated up Monday.
The City Council voted to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto, which means students may soon be able to bring cell phones to school.
Cell phones have been banned from city schools for more than a decade, but the rule wasn't strongly enforced until recent years when some schools started using metal detectors.
Bloomberg vetoed a bill that would've lifted the ban, saying cell phones are a distraction that can interrupt a student's day.
"Maybe a story about getting your children the kind of education so that they can share in the great American dream is more important than somebody who says I have to talk to my child to find out whether they want fish or beef for dinner," Bloomberg said.
The backlash to that statement came quickly.
"I think the mayor is being insulting and disrespectful to parents," said 16-year-old Jillian Stevens of the Upper West Side's Beacon High.
Dorothy Giglio is PTA co-president at James Madison High School and says the issue is safety, and sees a cell phone as a lifeline to parents when kids are going to and from school.
"Parents like me work," Giglio said. "I'm concerned I'm not there to pick my son up and take him and know what's going on."
Students CBS 2 HD spoke with agreed.
"Kids have places to go after school and it's important to be in touch with your family members so they don't worry," Stevens said.
City Councilman Lew Fidler, D-Brooklyn, proposed the bill.
"Kids should be able to bring cell phones to and from school and when they're on school grounds they should be off and out of sight," Fidler said.
A lot of kids get away with cell phones in school as long as they don't have metal detectors. Fidler says his son's school doesn't scan students and he'll continue to send his son to class with a cell phone.
Fidler says the bill will take effect in 90 days, and in that time he's hoping to talk to the mayor to come to what he calls a "common sense" policy.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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