TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Policy changes spark debate

By Daniel Pye<br><a href="mailto:pyed@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>

Revisions to the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District’s discipline policy on dress code will go into effect next year.

The revision was one of many, most of which were relatively minor. But the changes to the dress code were extensive, aimed at keeping pace with changing fashions and trends among students.

Some of the ideas proposed by the committee that reviewed the dress code, like a ban on flip-flops, were dropped due to the prevalence of those types of open-toed shoes in summer months. But other new prohibitions made it in, such as a provision that students not wear pajama pants to school.

That section peaked the interest of School Board Member Jill Robbins-Jabine at the May meeting when the policy was introduced. Her concern was the blurred line between pajama pants and light cotton pants sold at stores like Old Navy and American Eagle. Robbins-Jabine voiced her concerns with the policy again Tuesday, saying she was hopeful that the policy could be changed if it proved too difficult to enforce.

“I’d like to see this be an evolving, organic kind of document,” Robbins-Jabine said. “I wouldn’t want us to open ourselves up to liability.”

Robbins-Jabine was hopeful that the board could monitor how the policy is enforced in the next school year. The district has a program that monitors offenses that end in suspension, but the problem with using it to follow dress code infractions is that most of those type of offenses don’t make it to the disciplinary action stage, said Director of Student Services Tom Wolff.

Although the board voted to approve the new policy, Board President Melissa Brinson assured the board that the item can be revisited in the future.

“Any policy we view as no longer meeting the needs of the students’ needs is something this board can revisit and tweak,” Brinson said. “The door is always open.”

Other policy changes included a revision to the suspension policy that would allow for a reduction in the penalty if students agree to take part in a counseling program.

“This is something that we can certainly use our family support center for quite a bit,” Wolff said. “This will let us be proactive about these things so that instead of just suspending students we can address the motivations behind these actions.”

In other business, the cost of food has driven the cost of the district’s school lunches up, with elementary prices going from $1.40 to $1.50 and secondary school prices from $1.60 to $1.75. While that is a big raise for the district, the final prices are still similar to other nearby districts, said Assistant Superintendent for Finance Gerald Stuitje.

“We feel that’s adequate,” Stuitje said. “That’s as far as we want to go.”

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.