Westside : Uniform Plan Wins School Board’s OK

What’s a new school year without shopping for back-to-school clothes? Parents and students in Culver City may find out.

The Culver City School Board approved a policy Tuesday giving administrators of the city’s public elementary, middle and high schools the freedom to choose whether their students should wear uniforms.

Those who support the policy say it will lessen peer pressure among students to wear the “right” outfits to school. But Barbara Honig, the only school board member to vote against the uniform policy, argued that uniforms limit students’ ability to think for themselves.

Parents and administrators at El Rincon Elementary School have showed the most support for the new uniform policy. In fact, El Rincon Principal Diane Wallace hosted fashion shows at the school last year so parents could see the latest uniform styles.

Wallace said she would prefer a “California look”: Bermuda shorts in either plaid or solid colors paired with collared shirts are top contenders, she said.

School officials who opt for uniforms are required to win the board’s approval on the styles they select--a process that could take up to six months. Parents who choose not to have their children wear the uniforms would be granted an exemption, officials said.

Culver City High School has not taken a formal position on the policy, but the uniform concept has not found favor with at least one student.

“Is it gonna make us study more?” asked 17-year-old Elizabeth Robles, a senior. “Do you get all dressed up to read a book? No, you get comfortable.”