School board OKs teacher uniforms

By Emily Richmond

Friday, July 11, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.

Teachers at Henderson elementary schools taking part in a pilot study requiring students to wear uniforms should have to follow a similar dress code themselves, the Clark County School Board decided Thursday.

Despite objections from the teachers' union, board members voted 5-1 to approve a notice of intent to change the regulations governing employee attire at schools where student uniforms are mandatory. Board member Larry Mason was absent.

If the regulation passes the second required board vote July 24, teachers would have to "normally wear attire similar to the adopted uniform, as determined by the principal, unless an exception is otherwise approved."

School Board President Sheila Moulton said she believed the regulation left enough leeway for teachers to opt out of participating.

"I appreciate the words normally, similar and exception," Moulton said.

But Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association representing the majority of the district's teachers, said the proposed language was vague and gave too much discretion to principals.

There are also financial considerations, Holloway told the board. Unlike school bus drivers, who are provided their uniforms by the district, teachers would have to purchase a second set of clothing for work days, Holloway said.

Bill Hoffman, senior counsel for the school district, said the bus drivers' uniforms are provided because that was a negotiated benefit in their contract. The teachers' union would be free to seek a similar arrangement for themselves, Hoffman said.

Board member Denise Brodsky was the dissenting vote, saying enough teachers are participating voluntarily at the pilot schools that the regulation was not necessary. It could also become a source of tension between teachers and administrators, Brodsky said.

Board member Ruth Johnson noted that the regulation would only affect the five schools in the mandatory student uniform program and that if it became an issue the board would hear about it in its review of the pilot study.

The board also voted unanimously to add C.T. Sewell and Walker International elementary schools to the three other Henderson elementary schools already taking part in the study. Students at Lamping, Twitchell and Vanderburg elementary schools are beginning the second year of the pilot study.