Lyle students in grades six through 12 will now be able to bring cell phones to school.

The Lyle School Board approved a proposal to allow students to use cell phones at school, as long as they are shut off during class.

If a student has his or her phone activated during class, the phone will be confiscated and returned to the student's parents, said Principal Royce Helmbrecht.

Cell phones have been banned at the school, but students bring them anyway to keep in touch with parents and friends during the day, Helmbrecht said.

Board president Dwight DeBoer said if the phones create problems, the policy change will be looked at again.

Helmbrecht hopes they won't be a problem.

"I've heard a lot of positive comments," Helmbrecht said.

The board also waived a health/physical education requirement for 19 seniors who are one half-credit short of both health and physical education. The deficiency is a result of the change from a seven-period day to a four-period day, Helmbrecht said.

No other classes will have a problem with not having enough credits, Helmbrecht said.

The school's auditor Greg Larson went over the auditor's report with the board. The school's revenues are up while expenses have decreased slightly, he said.

"You don't see that very often," Larson said.

The school also does not have any outstanding debt. The community education and early childhood development funds are down, but some revenues from the state are up.

Superintendent Jerry Reshetar said he hopes everyone is pleased with the report.

"We're doing very well with our budget and our finances," he said. "This has been an efficient school for quite awhile."

The board also set dates for when notices about when people can vote on the $11.1 million school construction will be put up. The superintendent said ballot examples will be in local newspapers this week and next.