Settle uniform question

As we mentioned last year in this space, we support the concept of uniforms in the Oberlin schools. The issue raised its head again at last week's school board meeting, and we encourage the board to consider it thoughtfully.

While the survey presented at the board meeting provided some light into the situation, that light is a flickering candle at best. The survey participants were self-selected -- as, apparently, were the committee members conducting the survey -- rendering their results merely anecdotal.

We would seek to put at ease the minds of parents who only recently spent hundreds of dollars on new school clothes for their children. Logistically, implementing a uniform policy could not be completed in this school year.

The Ohio Revised Code requires school districts to offer the community ample opportunity to comment prior to implementing a uniform policy. And while some would argue the issue has been discussed here many times, the same Revised Code says the schools must wait six months after approving any uniform policy before implementing it.

That said, we feel the school board should restart the community dialogue and have a uniform policy in place for the start of the next school year. The beginning of the new International Baccalaureate curriculum, with its increased academic expectations, would be a good time to raise our expectations of student dress.

But uniforms should do more than make all students look alike. We should expect them to have an impact on academics, behavior, attendance, or some other quantifiable measure.

We encourage the school board and superintendent to research uniforms. What are other school districts in the county, the state, and the nation experiencing with uniforms? What results can they unquestionably attribute to the uniforms? Have any school districts rescinded a uniform policy because they did not have the desired effect?

These and other questions should be answered before we settle this question for Oberlin. But let's settle the question before the next school year.