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Dress code key issue of MISD election
By BRIAN PORTER/Managing Editor
The absence of a contested city election will turn the focus of voters in May to a pair of Mesquite ISD issues.
A MISD bond referendum shares the ballot with the city’s only contested race, pitting MISD Board of Trustees president Rita Crump against challenger Barry Walker for the Place 1 seat on the school board.
The primary issue of the election will be the enforcement of the dress code. Walker does not believe it is being enforced. Crump says she believes the district is getting at least 95 percent enforcement.
Walker says he chose to seek election only after presenting what he believed was an issue to Linda Henrie, Ed. D., MISD superintendent of schools.
“This is the main reason people asked me to run for election,” Walker said. “This has been going on the last two to three years n ever since the board adopted standardized dress.”
He did not believe the dress code was being enforced at North Mesquite High School, where he served in an athletics booster capacity and in other ways. He says it is not just a problem at North Mesquite, but that “this is MISD wide.”
Walker wants the dress code in place to be enforced. Crump believes it is. Walker has presented photos of students at North Mesquite violating the dress code, but district officials say the photos were taken outside the school and that students are governed by the dress code only during school hours inside the school.
He took the photos at 2:08 p.m. when he says students were outside, but passing to another class.
“If they are on campus from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the dress code applies,” Walker said.
Crump relates a story of violating the dress code to original student intentions. She indicates a student which was in line with the dress code during first period could be in violation of the dress code in fourth period when his or her shirt comes untucked from his or her pants and it could all be accidental.
The current dress code was established in consultation with parents, students and administrators, Crump says. Walker says it is the administrators that are not enforcing the dress code. Crump indicates it is the administrators which originally asked for “standardized dress” and are enforcing it.
“We were looking for a better learning environment and safety,” Crump said. “You see, if someone is on campus and not in our dress code, they would be asked to come to our office.”
Crump, the grandmother of a teenager in MISD schools, says she accepts the dress code may not have originally been embraced by students. She believes most have accepted the dress code and follow it.
“They want to be individual,” Crump said. “After it was put in place, they seem to have accepted it.”
Walker, who has a son in high school, takes exception with Crump’s ideal that the board should not micromanage administrators. He says he has been on campus and has personally seen students on campus during class hours violating the dress code.
“As a school board member we do not micromanage, we set policy,” Crump said. “We set procedures and it is then up to the campus administrators.”
Walker says he represents parents which have seen students in violation of the dress code and is seeking election to better enforce the dress code.
His issues aren’t necessarily with the board, but with administration enforcing the policies and procedures the board approved.
“Helping enforce rules should not be considered micromanaging,” Walker said.
Crump believes Walker did an excellent job of finding an issue and presenting it in October to Henrie. She indicates with the presentation of an issue he should have found a resolution.
“What’s the solution? You need a solution,” Crump said. “Our superintendent listens. Have a solution.”
Crump is in support of a policy which solves dress code violations on campus and in which students do not miss class for violations. She says it keeps students on campus and in class.
“I can solve the problem real quick,” Walker said. “When kids have to call mom and dad to get them off work because they are being sent home for the day, it would stop there. They would obey the dress code.”
Walker says they might miss class that one day, but responsibility would fall to the parents and students wouldn’t miss class or violate the dress code again.
Crump is not in support of the policy which would result in students missing school for each violation. She says campuses can have available dress code eligible items in the office and get students back to class quickly.
“We want to keep the students in school,” Crump said.
Walker is running for office on the forum to place some new blood on the board of trustees.
“I am the new blood,” Crump said. “I do know this. Mr. Walker has a heart for children. You don’t run for this if you don’t have a heart for children and he does.”
Crump’s agenda, should she be elected for another term, is simplistic.
“My agenda, and that of my fellow board members, is to provide the very best education possible for every child,” she said. “The payment of being on a board like this is graduation day. You see teachers and students with grins and hugs. I actually get goose pimples thinking in some small way I was a part of that.”
Walker, a North Mesquite graduate, counters with the argument that he would have removed his name from the ballot, and it would not have been placed there in the beginning, if he would have seen results in his issue of dress code enforcement.
“I tried to go away,” Walker said. “They wouldn’t let me.”
Following is a glance at the secondary standard dress policies adopted by the Mesquite ISD. It is the enforcement of the secondary standard dress policy which will be the main issue of the May 12 election for Place 1 pitting incumbent Rita Crump and challenger Barry Walker:
APPROPRIATE STANDARD DRESS
*Pant Styles and Colors -- All pants must be solid khaki, navy blue, or black Dockers or similar style with a flat or pleated front. Pants must have belt loops, and must always be worn at the waist with a belt. Pants may not be tucked into shoes.
*Capri Pants, Shorts, Skirts and Jumpers -- Dockers-style capri pants and knee length shorts are allowed, as long as they meet the requirements for pants (khaki, navy blue or black; flat or pleated front with belt loops; worn at the waist with a belt). Ladies may wear knee-length or longer khaki, navy blue or black skirts and jumpers. Skirts must be worn at the waist, and if the skirt has belt loops a belt must be worn. Jumpers must be worn over a standard dress-approved shirt.
*Belts -- Belts must be worn within the belt loops and buckled at all times. Only solid brown, black, navy blue, khaki and white leather-like dress style or canvas belts are standard dress-approved.
*Polos, Oxfords, and Turtlenecks -- Buttoned polo-style, knit shirts with collars, turtleneck shirts, and oxford-style or dress shirts must be a solid color or a school-approved shirt. All shirts must remain tucked in under all circumstances.
*Undershirts -- Undershirts must be white, black, or the same color as the top shirt. All shirts must remain tucked in under all circumstances.
*Sweatshirts, Sweaters and Sweater Vests -- All sweatshirts, sweaters and sweater vests must be worn over a standard dress-approved shirt, must be a solid color or school approved, and must be appropriately sized in the shoulders, sleeves and length.
*Shoes -- Shoes must be brown, black, gray, navy blue or white. Acceptable styles include leather-like or canvas lace up, loafers, tennis shoes, close-toed mule styles or slides, or sandals with a back strap. Boots are acceptable in brown, black or navy blue. Shoes must be a matching pair and must be tied or fastened at all times. Shoelaces must be white or matching the color of the shoe. Socks must match each other and be solid dark brown, black, navy blue, khaki or white. Tights or hosiery must be solid brown, black, navy blue, white or neutral.
*Outerwear -- Solid color fleece and lightweight jackets are allowed. Approved school jackets may be worn for feeder school or school of attendance only. All jackets must be appropriately sized and worn over a standard dress-approved shirt.
(Any outerwear garment that does not fit the description above MUST be removed upon entering the school building and placed in a locker. Students who are concerned about being cold while inside the school building must follow the guidelines above. No other outerwear garments may be worn inside of the school.)
INAPPROPRIATE STANDARD DRESS
*Inappropriately-Sized Pants and Shorts -- Clothing may not be oversized or a baggy style.
*Wrong Pant Styles -- Only Dockers or similar-style pants and shorts are standard dress-approved. Gaucho-style pants, corduroys, jeans, and tight-fitting pants are not approved. Pants, shorts, and skirts may not have studs or decorations of any kind.
*Wrong Materials and Pant Styles -- Only Dockers or similar-style pants and shorts are standard dress-approved. Other styles of pants and shorts that are not approved include sweatpants, wind pants, drawstrings, warm-ups, overalls or coveralls, cargo style, carpenter style, soccer or boxer style. Pants and shorts may not be leather, suede, vinyl, corduroy, denim or knit.
*Inappropriate Belt and Jewelry Styles -- Styles of belts that are not allowed include scarves or ribbons, tie or fringe belts, sequined or excessively decorated belts or buckles, oversized buckles (larger than credit card size), chain or metal belts, lettering on belts or buckles, and stripes, checks or designs. Extremely large or bulky jewelry is not allowed.
*Inappropriate Shirt Styles -- Shirts may not have lettering of any kind (unless it is a school-approved shirt), cap sleeves or sleeveless styles, visible stripes, checks or other designs are not allowed. Shirts may not be thermal style or zippered. Tight, form-fitting or low-cut blouses are not allowed. Shirts must remain tucked in at all times.
*Inappropriate Styles for Sweatshirts, Sweaters and Sweater Vests -- Sweatshirts, sweaters and sweater vests may not be tight, form-fitting or oversized. Sweaters and sweatshirts may not be sleeveless or cap sleeved. Styles not allowed include shrugs and short vests or sweaters that end above the waistline.
*Inappropriate Shoes, Shoelaces, Socks and Hosiery -- Unacceptable shoe styles include flip-flops, open-toed shoes without a back strap and shoes with shoelaces that are not white or matching the color of the shoe. Socks and hosiery may not have checks, stripes, lettering, wording or designs. Shoes must be tied or fastened at all times.
*Inappropriate Outerwear -- Outerwear with lettering or brands larger than 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches are not allowed. Heavy and oversized coats and jackets are not allowed in the building.
Source: www.mesquiteisd.org/studentpol/standarddress.html
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Dwayne Stephens wrote on Apr 12, 2007 3:21 PM:
" I fully concour with Barry Walkers efforts to address these issues. On October 5, as I waited for the end of classes to pick my Grandson up, I was embarrased for MISD. I called
I am not only speaking of the dress-code, but the vulgar and sexual demonstrations I observed.
I would be glad to meet Rita Crump and let her convince me this is what she, the parents and grandparents of students in MISD want. If she can convince me this is a healthy atmosphere and this is what the tax payers and parents of MISD had in mind, I obviously have SEVERELY mis-judged my friends and neighbors.
If the other 95% is not addressed and corrected you will soon see the 5% figure grow to a much larger figure.
What issue will we allow to be ignored next, smoking, drinking, etc..
Dwayne Stephens "
Sara de Mesquite, Texas wrote on Apr 12, 2007 5:17 PM:
" I see people do violate the dress code but have u seen students change alittle of the dress code.
Is because they don't like the rules and have you noticed that all this dress code non sense have been a problem, it's like before dress code was enforced. I think dress code should gone because every kid wants to be an individual and not be the same like the other students.
"
Barry Walker wrote on Apr 13, 2007 12:00 PM:
" There is a conflict between what the School Board and the District Officals say. "District officials state students are governed bt the dress code only during the school hours and inside the school."
School Board set APPORATE STANDARD DRESS
All shirts must remain tucked in under all circumstances.
All shirts must remain tucked in under all circumstances.
INAPPROPRIATE STANDARD DRESS.
Shirts must remain tucked in at all times.
"
Jennifer Dowse wrote on Apr 13, 2007 1:59 PM:
" It is dangerous to vote for someone who is running on a specific issue who is not correctly informed, and breaks the law to prove a point. The MISD standardized dress code has been in effect for less than two years, not the two to three years as one candidate indicates in the article. The photographing of public school students, on school grounds, during the school day, without administration's knowledge and written parental consent is illegal. Mesquite voters should not elect someone who breaks the law to prove what he or she thinks is a valid point. If this is to be an issue in the upcoming election,then MISD dress code policies and enforcement should be properly and legally investigated. Taking photos of unaware students while lurking on the parking lot of their high school is both illegal and disturbing. Voters should carefully consider the candidates when casting their ballots. "
Kathy Phillips wrote on Apr 17, 2007 11:00 AM:
" The issue Mr. Walker addresses is an important one. We have allowed the students to show us when they don’t like a rule they don’t have to follow it. We have a responsibility to enforce the rules we have put in place or every rule we have will have no foundation to it. The DRESS CODE as well as ALL RULES should be enforced ON CAMPUS from 8:30 to 3:30 NO EXCEPTIONS. The pictures were taken responsibly with no identity shown, but the point of the pictures was that these are not "accidents" of a shirt becoming un-tucked. It appears that the administrators are afraid to enforce the dress code that they wanted. We cannot allow our rules to be compromised just because we don’t want the school to look bad. There needs to be a consequence to these and all violations. Maybe we could add a reward program for students and schools that have a perfect record on dress code violations. "
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