Over the objections of school board member Carrie Sutton, a plan to end uniform dress codes at three Cumberland County schools was approved by a board committee on Tuesday and sent to the full board for final action.
The Board of Education’s student support services committee voted 4-0 to advance the requests of Howard Hall Elementary, Pine Forest Middle and Sherwood Park Elementary schools to end their requirements for student uniforms for the 2023-24 term.
Currently, 20 of the district’s 87 schools have uniform policies.
Voting to advance the plan to the full board for action at its Jan. 10 meeting were school board members Donna Vann, Jacquelyn Brown, Greg West and Alicia Chisolm.
Sutton is not a member of the committee but spoke on the issue at Tuesday’s meeting.
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Melody Chalmers McClain, associate superintendent of student support services, made the presentation to the committee.
McClain said that the board’s policy is to allow schools to ask that requiring uniforms be discontinued. Each school must survey staff members, students and parents about a change in uniform policy. If 70% of respondents agree that the policy should be discontinued, the issue is referred to the student support services committee.
Non-responses are counted as votes in favor of the proposal.
McClain said the surveys found 86% support for discontinuing uniform requirements at Howard Hall Elementary; 91% support at Pine Forest Middle; and 92% at Sherwood Park Elementary.
McClain said all three schools reached the 70% requirement even without counting non-responses.
School board member Sutton questioned the survey results and the committee’s potential willingness to drop uniform requirements at three public schools.
“I’m not understanding why this is here today,” Sutton said. “Every research throughout this country says uniforms work. Uniforms work for behavior reasons. Uniforms work for concentration and retention reasons.
“And more than anything,” Sutton said, uniform requirements can help counter a social stigma for children who are economically disadvantaged.
“So, I’m not understanding why this is here and what’s going on here. I don’t know if it’s a political thing or a group of people or a certain amount of people, …” she said.
Sutton said the board should do what’s in the best interests of the entire district.
“I’m a strong advocate for school uniforms,” she said. “And I believe if we really did surveys of all our principals, they would tell you, ‘We need uniforms.’ We’re already a low-economic community. We have kids and parents who can’t afford different clothes every day.”
She suggested that uniforms could be optional.
“They can still wear them if they want to,” Superintendent Marvin Connelly responded.
But, McClain said, the uniform code will not be enforced by a school that is approved to end the policy.
“I have one other thing to say, and I’m done with it,” Sutton said. “We have to think about all our children, not just a group of people that don’t like the rules. They’re in the business of changing the rules. Every, every time we get a group of people that’s against them.”
Michael Futch covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at mfutch@cityviewnc.com.
