Opinions Divided on School Uniforms

Opinion was sharply divided at a public hearing this week that drew more than 300 people to express their views about mandatory school uniforms.

Santa Ana Unified School District board members are set to vote on the question Oct. 8. Though a school survey earlier this year showed that 75% of those responding favor uniforms, slightly more than half of the dozens who spoke at the hearing said they are opposed.

School officials and parents who support the idea argued that uniforms cut down on crime. They cited statistics from nearby Long Beach Unified School District, which has a uniform policy, to prove their point.

“Uniforms are not going to single-handedly solve our gang problems,” Santa Ana teacher Karen Stepanski said. “But they will improve our odds of success.”

Many of the speakers who opposed the uniform proposal, however, said it would do little to deter the behavior of children.

“If somebody wants to be a gangster, they’re going to be a gangster whether they’re in a uniform or not,” said Nancy Covarrubias, 17, a senior at Santa Ana Valley High School.

Those who turned out for the public hearing, which officials said drew the biggest crowd in more than a year, packed the school board chambers and an adjacent patio.

The district’s Uniform Study Committee, made up of district employees and community members, has recommended a mandatory uniform consisting of blue pants or skirts with white tops.

If approved, the policy would begin in July 1997 for kindergarten through eighth grade.