Board still unpacking dress code alterations

Parents may want to wait before purchasing back-to-school clothing for their Kingfisher Public Schools students.

The Kingfisher Board of Education was split last Tuesday in approving an updated dress code in the handbooks for the middle and high schools.

Ultimately, it was decided the dress codes would be updated at a future meeting.

“I make a motion that we approve the handbooks except for dress code and we re-evaluate that and look at other options,” said board member Terry Payne after about a 15-minute discussion on the matter.

The motion was seconded by Jim Perdue and they were joined in voting yes by board President Dana Golbek.

Carly Franks voted against the motion, making it a 3-1 decision as board member Charles Walker was absent.

“I know our administrators put a lot of time and effort into putting together their recommendation and I fully support them,” Franks said after the meeting.

What KHS Principal Jay Wood and KMS Principal Keith Campbell recommended was a policy that affected males and females the same.

“One of the concerns with dress codes is that they only affect or punish girls,” Wood said. “With this dress code, it basically says all students, male or female, can wear the same clothing and be judged the same way.”

The current policy does not allow tank tops or muscle shirts, off-shoulder straps, net shirts, midriff shirts or spaghetti straps, among others.

It also states: “Shorts, skirts and dresses must be within reason and appropriate for school attire. Shorts must be at least fingertip length. This is at the discretion of the principal.”

The new policy is more simply stated in that it says the “entire area from shoulder to shoulder to bottom of 3-to-4-inch length must be covered.”

The 3-to-4-inch length refers to the inseam of shorts and was the subject of the lengthy discussion.

“I think that’s too short,” Payne said.

He later added: “There’s stuff that girls wear, and it can be boys, too, at times, but mainly it’s the girls’ shorts is what it is,” he said. “I wouldn’t want my daughter wearing it and I wouldn’t want boys staring at my daughter’s rear because that’s what will happen.

“It’s just the reality of it. They’re going to do that anyway, but it doesn’t help when stuff is short the way it is nowadays.”

The discussion also ventured into the difficulty of buying shorts – especially for girls – with length beyond what the proposed policy suggested.

“I’m not saying that’s right or wrong,” Franks added to the discussion. “That is the fact and other than buying jeans and cutting them off, I don’t know how to buy shorts longer than that.”

Superintendent Dr. Daniel Craig was among those recommending the new policy.

“I don’t know what else you would buy unless you just say ‘no shorts,’” he said.

Enforcing the policy also was discussed.

“If this is truly policed, then every day, I’m going to have 60 percent of the student body in my office needing to be sent home,” Campbell said.

Payne countered that may be true for a short period of time, but “once parents got the message,” then clothes against the standard would taper off.

“I think a lot of parents would look at that (policy) and say ‘no,’” Campbell said.

“I don’t want to approve this because ‘it’s not worth the fight,’” Payne added. “It is worth the fight.”

The policy proposed by the two principals and Craig came after several hours of discussion in the weeks leading up to the meeting.

“A lot of school districts are adopting it because of the gender-neutral concept,” Wood said, noting this specific policy had passed muster in courtrooms in Virginia.

Administrators looked into updating the policy because of the changes in “fashion” and apparel.

“It’s changed quite a bit in the last 13 years,” Wood said. “The fight we are having is with the Nike or Lululemon shorts because historically those have not fit the dress code.”

Administrators attempted to solve that issue while also being fair.

“Sometimes you end up policing body types,” Wood said.

Said Payne: “I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t think three or four inches in length is the answer.”

The board next meets Aug. 2.

Students return to class Aug. 12.

Although printed handbooks aren’t distributed to students, they are on the district’s website.

“That’s how we go over it with students,” Campbell said after the meeting. “We could amend (the policy) during the August board meeting and that would give us time to make those changes prior to school starting.”