Romulus superintendent flags chronic absenteeism, signals stricter cell‑phone enforcement and middle‑school changes

Superintendent Ben Edmonson used the April 27 Romulus Community Schools board meeting to press several operational and student‑support priorities, including attendance, discipline and program engagement.

Edmonson noted district celebrations — including a student signing to play at Jackson Community College and upcoming quiz‑bowl competitions — and promoted expanded Career and Technical Education exposure, including inviting the district culinary program to cater an event. He said the district is resuming targeted work to restructure the middle school and to better support teachers and students.

Edmonson also raised a districtwide attendance concern, saying roughly 20% of students miss 20 or more days, and asked trustees to consider interventions. Board members discussed linking eligibility for extracurricular trips to attendance, behavior and academic criteria; no formal policy change was adopted at this meeting. Edmonson signaled a firmer stance on cell phones in schools, stating enforcement will be stepped up and that staff must implement policy consistently.

He also asked each trustee to send four handwritten notes to students within a month to help boost student belonging and engagement, and said the district will move to a new parent‑communication platform (ParentSquare) to replace the vendor that ceased operations. Edmonson said the district will continue implementation planning and report back to the board on next steps.

The report combined celebratory items with operational priorities and drew active discussion from trustees about attendance thresholds and trip eligibility; the board did not adopt new criteria at this meeting.