HICKORY, N.C.,None — The Board of Education for Hickory Public Schools discussed problems with its dress code at length at its work session Monday night, but came to no resolution.
The school system has approved on first reading extending the standardized dress code to its middle school at its May 23 meeting.
Grandview Middle PTA parent Tina Matthews addressed the board about the policy Monday, saying she was against bringing the dress code to middle schools in part because parents were not given adequate warning that the board was considering the measure.
"I can see it has positive results when implemented correctly," Matthews said. "But many parents feel the existing policy is far from perfect and a burden on our high schools. The current dress code for the middle schools is working with the exception of the same handful of students."
The dress code police must be approved by board members on a second reading. Matthews said if it is, the board risks alienating many parents in the system.
"I feel completely insulted as a parent that you did not feel the need to include us in this decision," she said.
Board Chairman Joab Cotton said he would give Matthews' statement consideration.
The current policy that still needs a second reading applies to students in sixth through 12th grade and lists specific colors for tops and bottoms that students can wear, as well as specific types of clothes students can and cannot wear.
Board member Sallie Johnson said she thought the dress code colors needed to be changed completely.
"To differentiate between what is burgundy or what is gold is a total waste of time," she said. "We need to have one color or we need to have every color, because this color interpretation blows my mind. What I want to see is let's get back to school and quit fooling with this."
Cotton said system requested the teachers fill out a survey so they could "get an update on where we are, where we're going."
Cotton reminded the board they deliberately avoided allowing students to wear certain colors because of the gang problems.
Board member Charlotte Williams said avoiding colors doesn't matter anymore.
"They're all being represented now, that's a moot point," she said, referring to comments teachers had made in the survey. "And colors change, styles change. Burgundy and gold aren't in style anymore and are hard to find."
Vice-Chairwoman Gloria Hemphill said if the dress code gets out of hand, the board should be looking to the teacher, who she called the manager.
"If this gets out of hand past day one, then there's a problem with the manager. The manager sets the tone for the 90 minutes," she said. "If there's disciplinary action for non-compliance in a classroom, it comes down to the teacher."
Johnson said the administration is also responsible, and needs to back up the teachers and enforce the dress code.
Matthews said the discussion did nothing to abate her concern about implementing the dress code at the middle schools.
"It's so far from being effective," she said. "How can it work at the middle school when it's so far from being effective at the high school?"
Matthews said she plans to go to the next board meeting. Although she was at Monday's meeting, many other parents were not because it was the first week of summer vacation and many families had already planned to be out of town, she said. Still, Matthews hopes she was heard.
"I'm sure they heard my message and felt my frustration, but I'm not sure they'll do something about it," she said.
The board said it will likely hold its second reading of the standardized dress code at its June 27 meeting and discuss the colors at its next work session.
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