VOORHEESVILLE – Students at Clayton A. Bouton High are learning more than just English, mathematics, and history – they are learning about appropriate attire for the working world.

In July, the school board, in a split vote, passed a new, stricter dress code that was implemented at the start of the current school year.

The board, at its Nov. 13 meeting, heard from students about their experience with the new dress code.
"I think that it’s stupid for people to be getting reprimanded for things that were OK last year," one female student said. She went on to say, "If students were getting paid to come to school, they’d be OK with the dress code."

The handful of students who spoke up said that the faculty is biased in its enforcement of the dress code.
Board member Richard Brackett, who voted against the dress code in July, said, " My biggest fear, you have mentioned – selective enforcement."
"We try to get all the students to comply by our rules," Mark Diefendorf, the high school principal, told the board.
Another female student told the board that she had been reprimanded for her clothing "probably a half-dozen times." She said that she would prefer to wear a uniform to school than have to rifle through her wardrobe every morning to be sure that "every inch of my body is covered."
"I don’t think there is anything crazy about a dress code," said board Vice President C. James Coffin, who voted in favor of the dress code.

The dress code was developed over the course of last school year by the site-based team at the high school. The group, including staff and parents, collected information from other districts throughout the country to form the dress code, Diefendorf told The Enterprise.
That is how "it became the animal that it is now," he said.
Diefendorf said that for 99 percent of students, the dress code has no effect "because what they wear is appropriate."
The district is using the dress code, Diefendorf said, as "a learning tool for kids."

Students have to learn that, in some situations, certain attire is not appropriate, he said.
The code stipulates students’ clothing must "be safe, appropriate and not disrupt or interfere with the educational process."

Tube tops, hats – other than those for religious or medical purposes – and shirts with plunging necklines are inappropriate, the code states.

One student argued that being reprimanded for inappropriate dress interferes with the educational process because students are generally called out of class to be warned.

Enforcement has been the biggest debate regarding the dress code.
"So much is left up to the discretion of the adults in the building" We need to revisit that portion of it," said board member Paige Pierce at the recent meeting. Pierce was not present to vote at July’s meeting, but has voiced some concerns about the dress code.

What is offensive or inappropriate to one person, may not be to someone else, she argued.
"Will the decision be the same made by every individual – of course not," Coffin said. "You simply can’t make it perfect."

Diefendorf told The Enterprise that the dress code is not set in stone. "It is constantly changing," he said.
"We try to deal with it without being obtrusive," Diefendorf said, regarding enforcement. Most of the time, he said, the students are reminded about the dress code, and what is appropriate and what is not. They may be given a sweatshirt or sweatpants to cover themselves with, he said.

Diefendorf said that he has only personally addressed one student, who stopped into his office for something unrelated. It wasn’t until the student was leaving his office that Diefendorf became aware that the male’s pants had a rip in the seat, and his boxer shorts were visible, he said. He gave the student a pair of sweatpants to wear for the day, and advised him to not wear the ripped pants to school again, Diefendorf said.

He said that, for the most part, enforcing the dress code is the responsibility of teaching assistants and aides.
"Once you kick it to me, it becomes more serious than it really should be," he told The Enterprise.

The dress code is relaxed a bit for special functions such as school dances, Diefendorf said. The student government will come up with parameters for an upcoming school dance, he said.

In a student editorial in the school newspaper, The Heldebarker, Diefendorf said, the writer wrote in disgust about what some students wore to the homecoming dance at the school.

This is where conflict comes in, he said.
Although belly shirts and low-rise jeans are the style these days, and students are served, by the media, images of celebrities wearing clothing that would certainly not be appropriate by Voorheesville’s dress code standards, ‘That’s the model we have to fight against," Diefendorf said.
"These are the times in which we live," he said.

Other business

In other business, the board of education at its November meeting:

– Approved two out-of-town student field trips: The National History Club will travel to Washington, D.C. in March at a cost of $350 per student; and the North American Music Festival will be held in Virginia Beach in April and will cost $425 per student;

– Agreed to allow the American Red Cross to use school property, grounds, and equipment for mass care shelters in the event of a natural disaster;

– Approved a trip for Superintendent Linda Langevin and Vice President C. James Coffin to attend the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Annual Legal Update conference in Saratoga Springs on Dec. 8, at a cost of $100 per person;

– Increased the salary for Superintendent Langevin by 3.5 percent for the 2006-07 school year. The increase of $4,375, which is retroactive from July 1, 2006, brings the superintendent’s annual salary to $129,375;

– Approved the corrective action plan which addresses the 2005-06 external audit;

– Accepted the donation of $500 worth of computers to the technology department by board member Thomas McKenna;

– Approved membership into the New York State School Boards Association for the 2007 calendar year for a total cost of $5,765;

– Decreased the tax warrant by roughly $1,000 to $14.4 million due to a town of New Scotland clerical error and a town of Guilderland assessment review;

– Approved participation with BOCES Cooperative Purchasing for food and cafeteria supplies for the 2006-07 school year for a total cost of $1,806; and

– Authorized issuing not more than $150,000 worth of district bonds to pay for the Voorheesville Public Library land acquisition adjacent to the current library building.