On Tuesday, April 14, Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) trustees gathered in the Kreps Conference Center to discuss Yondr and NuKase phone pouches, among other topics. Trustees voted 3 to 2 to order NuKase hard plastic lockable cellphone cases for students at Tamalpais, Redwood, and Archie Williams high schools for the upcoming school year. The project costs a total of 104,000 dollars upfront and aligns with the district’s plan to reduce phone use across its five high schools.
While specific annual maintenance fees for TUHSD weren’t listed in the announcement, similar phone-pouch systems typically include a 15-20 percent annual replacement rate, often costing 25–30 dollars per replacement pouch. Community members have raised concerns about the policy’s cost and questioned whether it represents a long-term solution or merely a short-term response to student phone use.
Kevin Saavedra, a current member of the TUHSD School Board of Trustees, explained the reasoning behind the board’s decision.
“We know what we need to accomplish. And that is liberating kids from the awareness of their phones during the day, and getting them socializing, and getting them not to spend mental energy on that,” Saavedra said.
A study from The National Institutes of Health agrees with Saavedra’s verdict, stating, “Smartphone use can be disruptively habitual, with the main detrimental consequence being an inability to exert prolonged mental effort,” highlighting how frequent phone use weakens sustained attention and focus over time.
However, this finding isn’t the topic of contention. Worries from other board members and TUHSD students have sparked a debate on whether we are leaping into this decision with full preparation or if the August semester is simply a test run for this initiative.
Ida Green, another current member of the TUHSD School Board of Trustees, voted no on the policy. When asked why, she expressed concern about the speed of the decision.
“We do not have a valid plan in place for abruptly installing a bell-to-bell phone ban on day one in August when school comes in,” she said, “The Tamalpais Unified High School District is going to be the guinea pigs in this because we will be the first open campus that is trying to implement a bell-to-bell schedule.”
Sophomore Max Polony also sees the downsides of this policy.
“I think they are a massive waste of funding…considering that our school frequently gets bomb threats, where you would be forced to leave your phone at school in the event of that,” Max said.
Both board members, Green and Saavedra, expressed uncertainty about entering the program.
“This is not going to be a 100 percent solution. [But], I think it’s the best solution out there. It’s the best way to address what is a real problem.” Saavedra said.
The discussion of lockable phone pouches has been underway for nearly three years. In the board meeting, school board president Cynthia Roenisch noted that district officials have been addressing concerns around cellphone addiction, student mental health, and learning distractions for nearly three years, implying that this decision is overdue.
TUHSD Superintendent Courtney Goode stated that the NuKase cases will cost 104,000 dollars in the first year, as annual expenditures will either be nothing or as much as 10,000 dollars. This option is more affordable than the Yondr pouches, which would have cost 145,000 dollars in the first year and 30,000 dollars in subsequent years.
With TUHSD deciding to invest in NuKase pouches, students can expect a phone-free year as they enter the 2026-27 school year. This decision follows years of discussion and marks a significant step in their plan to reduce phone usage. As the policy launches, its effectiveness and long-term role in the district will become clearer.
