Board member details reasons for uniforms

By Staff
Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
For Jeff Lee, school resource officer for Hartselle City Schools, school uniforms are all about safety.
"We need to be more concerned about our kids safety and less about what is the fashion of the day or how much skin we can show," Lee said.
School board member Ronnie Abercrombie agrees. Abercrombie has been a chief proponent of making the switch to uniforms. He knows, however, that it's not a popular idea with everyone, including some of his fellow school board members.
There are several studies that evaluate the success of school uniforms. Some studies show test scores increasing and violence decreasing, while others show the uniforms had no effect.
Abercrombie presented the board with a list of reasons he feels the system should go to uniforms. Those reasons include:
Abercrombie said it's much easier to spot intruders or people that don't belong if all are wearing the same outfits in the same colors.
"That's not a problem in Hartselle – yet," Abercrombie said.