PTA survey shows support for uniforms

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
June 17, 2003
The president of the PTA Council told the Meridian School Board on Monday that results from a survey of parents show that some favor mandatory school uniforms for students.
Connie Shannon presented the board with a five-page report on a survey the PTA sent to more than 7,000 households one for each child enrolled in the school district.
Of those, she said, 1,011 were returned with 718 in favor of school uniforms, 371 against them and 12 with no opinion.
School board members, however, took no action.
Fred Wile, school board president, praised Shannon for her methodical approach to polling parents about how they feel about school uniforms.
Wile and other school board members asked Shannon and the PTA to continue research into the issue including what kind of uniforms students could wear and how much they would cost.
Shannon and other uniform supporters have said mandatory uniforms allow students to focus on their actions rather than their appearance. They said uniforms give students a sense of belonging.
In other business, board members took the following actions:
They revised graduation requirements for scholars for the next school year. Students will be considered for valedictorian and salutatorian only if they take a full load, or seven full periods, of classes. Board members also created a tie-breaker policy for valedictorians that will include averaging all course work from ninth through 12th grades.
They approved the professional development plan for the 2003-2004 school year. Among other things, the plan includes cultural sensitivity training for teachers.
They renewed the contract for Success For All, completing the district's three-year commitment with the program.
They agreed to hold a public hearing on the proposed 2003-2004 school district budget on June 23 at the Wild Cat Cafe at Ross Collins Career and Technical Center.