- April 24, 2024
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About 50 students, parents and school employees voiced their opinions at the Nov. 15 town hall meeting, at the Flagler Auditorium. Most were opposed to the idea of a mandatory school uniforms policy, but the School Board made few comments.
One parent who spoke, Stephen McClellan, recently spent eight years wearing uniforms in the U.S. Air Force. He said it was always obvious among the airmen who cared about the uniforms and who didn’t, and the same would be true in the schools.
The uniforms would not change behavior, he argued. Moreover, he said, the School Board should provide the community with statistics to prove the success of uniforms in other cities.
Parents were divided with regard to costs of uniforms. Some said it would lead to having to purchase two full wardrobes; others said they would find inexpensive places to buy uniforms and save money.
Nearly all the students were against uniforms.
The next forum will be 6-7:30 p.m. Dec. 7, at a location to be determined. The intent is to have at least one school administrator, and possibly a full panel, from other counties with good and bad experience with school uniforms. The board will make its final vote Jan. 3.
To read more reactions Nov. 17 in the print edition of the Palm Coast Observer.