Cleveland school needs $1M donor...for uniforms

[jundp 191]

Think you pay a lot for back-to-school clothes? Try $1 million on for size.

The Cleveland schools may have to spend that much to continue providing uniforms for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Cuyahoga County picked up the $1.3 million tab last year, when the schools first required uniforms for those students. But the county cannot afford to repeat the gesture, said Rick Werner, a deputy county administrator.

Schools Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders said the district would welcome a new sponsor but has set aside $1 million in case one does not emerge.

The county's donation outfitted 17,331 children, about half the enrollment in K-8.

Clothing vouchers worth $75 went to families with incomes of up to twice the federal poverty level.Each child received four solid-colored, collared shirts or blouses, three pairs of slacks or skirts, and a belt, all from Silverman's Discount Department Stores.

Barbara Rogers, president of the Student Parent Organization at Miles Park Elementary School, estimated that three-fourths of the school's 600-plus students received free uniforms. Among those who benefited were her granddaughter and six great-nieces.

"A lot of parents said it was a great help," she said.

Sanders, who took over the schools in 2006, believes uniforms help improve discipline. The policy keeps students from scrambling to get hot brands and lording their purchases over peers, he said.

Teachers complain that some principals don't enforce the rules. Sanders said administrators sometimes cut breaks to children whose parents fall behind on laundry or can't quickly get to school with the proper clothes. But he said the district is discussing ways to improve compliance.

Assistant Superintendent Robert McKinnie said a committee he heads will recommend expanding uniforms to the high schools, starting with the 2009-10 school year. For now, high school students are to wear solid-colored, collared shirts of their choice, with black, navy or khaki pants. No jeans are permitted.

Teachers union President David Quolke is all for uniforms. But he said that before buying clothes, the district should hire more teachers for fourth through eighth grades. The school system has shifted teachers to lower grades to limit class sizes, and as a result, some classes in the middle grades have ballooned to more than 30 students.

"I agree they should continue to look for another sponsor," Quolke said. "They can find better ways to spend that $1 million."

source

[Niels Bohr 72]

This is freaking ridiculous! Uniforms are good to standardized school code, but issuing $75 vouchers to rich people is very un-balanced. Not only that, it hurts the poor people in a way because they have to pay taxes too. The rich will suffer just a minor dent, but, to the poorer household they'll suffer a big dent on taxes because of their already low income.

And, to put it into perspective the school should have looked at the income levels of the parents. If the parents are subject to income levels of about 20k, the a voucher would deem a necessity. However, if the parents income is 75k or 100k, then, the voucher would not be qualified for them.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

How about the student (or his/her parents) pay for the uniforms--or is that too simple a solution?

(edit: this actually IS the "solution" used in India)

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

How about the student (or his/her parents) pay for the uniforms--or is that too simple a solution?

(edit: this actually IS the "solution" used in India)

that's what i was wondering too.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Actually, there was an analogous issue in Calgary involving "bussing" (in Calgary, this means issuing the student a pass to use CT, rather than pay fare each time) in 1993. That year, Calgary Transit (CT) sent notices to both Public and Catholic School Boards that they would no longer honour the existing distance-based system (where students living within 1.6 km of the school had to pay a fee, but those outside that radius could get a free pass; they wanted the fee from all pass users). In the case of the Catholic School Board, the vote was that this simplified administration--as they no longer had to do distance-test, they could simply collect fees from ALL who wanted the pass. Unfortunately, the Public School Board failed to show such wisdom, and actually managed to deadlock on the issue.

[Sinergy 3]

I paid for Shonnas uniform, all 3, so those parents can as well.