School District Dress Code Shelved Indefinitely

Any chances of a change in the school district's dress code will have to wait for another time.

School board members indefinitely shelved the issue of student uniforms during a workshop on Monday. The general consensus was that it would prove too much of a financial burden on parents in these tough economic times.

Board members also wanted more time to digest a presentation from the committee that researched the issue for five months. Part of their research was to survey parents and guardians on their opinions about a change in the dress code.

Jeff Yungmann, speaking on behalf of the committee, told board members that the surveys were sent home with students and also available on online.

"We tried to cover all our bases," he said.

The percentage of parents responding ranged from 2 to 33 percent, which some board members considered too small of a margin.

"That's a small number of responses," said board member Pat Fagan.

The proposal from the Standard of Dress Task Force Committee was to implement at the least a minimum standard of dress. This would apply to grades kindergarten through fifth, sixth through eighth and introduce a pilot program at Springstead High School.

The dress code would include khakis, collared or polo shirts and dark skirts.

Yungmann pointed out in the meeting that the school district already has a dress code that was implemented years ago. If nothing else, there needs to be consistency in its enforcement.