A parent group said Monday it will back off an effort to implement a voluntary uniform policy at Pleasant Green Elementary School until the Magna community can come closer to agreement on the controversial subject.
Instead, it will ask the Granite School District Tuesday for money to study uniforms and the behavioral problems some hope stricter dress will curb.Monday afternoon, a group of about 30 parents on both sides of the issue met and agreed to delay the policy. "We want to hold off, but not back down, because we would like to study this issue more closely," said Mary Ann Wren, who has led a parent group's efforts to standardize dress at the Magna school.
The battle over how children should be clothed at school intensified this week as parents who support and oppose school uniforms prepared for a scheduled presentation before the Granite Board of Education.
Parents on both sides of the policy - the first regarding uniforms in a Utah public school - have looked at Pleasant Green's proposal as a precedent-setter.
The policy proposed to have all students wear white-collared shirts or turtlenecks; navy blue skirts, pants, jumpers or dress shorts and closed-toe shoes. Students should wear a belt if their clothing has belt loops and tuck their shirts in, according to the proposed policy.
In a handful of parent meetings and public forums, proponents have cited anecdotal evidence from several school districts around the country that have implemented similar policies. Uniforms improve student safety and academic achievement and diminish discipline problems, tardiness, suspensions and expulsions, they say.
Critics say uniforms aren't the answer to public-school challenges and that they infringe on student rights and personal choice.
Wren and Principal Edna Ehleringer will update the board on the policy's evolution Tuesday. The two also will request money to analyze behavioral problems at the school and study the community's feelings about uniforms.
On June 18, Wren told theschool board the school's parent advisory group planned to institute a uniform policy this fall and asked the board for $30,000 to buy uniforms for disadvantaged families.
Publicity about the announcement generated calls to the school and district, and parents at Monday's meeting seemed frustrated by the lack of consistent information.
Dale Vincent, who has seven children and said he doesn't support or oppose uniforms, just wanted to know whether or not to get his kids outfitted before Pleasant Green's next year-round track begins in two weeks.
Leaving the policy voluntary creates too much confusion among students, he said, and sets up a situation where "good" kids wear the uniforms and "bad" kids don't, he said. He encouraged the group to make any uniform policy mandatory. "We're either going to do or not going to do it."
Judy Stanfield, director of Granite's elementary school services, attended Monday's meeting and said the board wasn't interested in giving money for uniforms but probably would help pay to continue to study uniforms.
Sharon Prescott, Granite's associate director of elementary services, told parents they need to more clearly identify the problems - like tardiness, number of discipline problems per day and attendance problems - before locking into a uniforms solution.
"The uniform issue is very emotional. It's been very divisive in this community, and it's important for parents to consider what's best for the children," Prescott said.
Shelli Hutto-Poulson, who has opposed Pleasant Green's uniform plan, said Tuesday she was pleased Wren and the group had decided to wait on uniforms.
"Yes, I'm pleased, but I'm also very cautious," she said. "I'm glad they're going to look at other solutions to some of the school's problems, but we're also going to have to stay on top of this for another year."
"It's not a clear victory," she said.