The board room at the Hoboken Board of Education turned briefly into a catwalk Tuesday night, as five Wallace school students from the second through the fifth grade modeled several outfits that could serve as the basis for new school uniforms next year in many of the city’s public schools. The new uniform policy, which is the brainchild of board member and Mayoral Aide Robert Crespo, could begin as soon as the 2000-2001 school year, officials say. “We’d like to eventually bring this up to the high school,” Crespo told about 50 parents and children who had come to sneak a peek at the new uniforms. “That’s my goal.” Initially, board members say they would like to start with some of the lower grades so that Hoboken children become accustomed to the idea of wearing a uniform, before it is presented to the high school. The basic uniform – or “color” as the school board members say (since the word uniform causes many kids to wrinkle their noses) – features a white polo style top and either khaki pants or shorts. Girls would have the option of wearing khaki “skorts,” which actually are shorts that look like skirts from the front. On top of the white and tan basic uniform, each student would have the option of adding a colored piece of clothing that represents the school they attend. “Each school would add one color,” explained School Board Superintendent Patrick Gagliardi. “Calabro School might pick blue as their color. Then the kids there would primarily be wearing tan and white, but they could add something blue.” The meeting began with the “oohs” and “aahs” of parents when they saw the smartly-dressed children march in at Crespo’s command. Cool, or stinky? But other than a comment from one mom, who said that the uniforms were very similar to those worn at a public school in Jersey City, nobody from the audience commented on the new look. Afterwards, many of the younger children seemed to be quite taken with the idea. “I really like those skorts,” said Katherine Escalante, a 10 year-old from Connors School who had come to see the unveiling of the new uniforms. Standing outside after the meeting, a group of middle school-aged students from Demarest School who had come to the meeting to make a presentation to the board on another matter were less taken with the new uniforms. “It’s a pretty stinky idea,” said 13-year-old Brigette Valdivia. “Wearing the same thing to school everyday is just boring.” “It would not let us be individuals,” added 14-year-old Chelsea Richardson. Inside, board members were enthusiastically ticking off the reasons that they were pitching the uniforms in the first place. “We’re looking at outfitting a child for one year for less than $100,” said Crespo. “That is a lot cheaper than what most parents are paying now.” School Board President David Anthony also pointed out that the new uniforms would make it easy to recognize when school-aged children from other towns were in the city during school hours when they should not be. Next month, the board plans to hold a public hearing to formally consider the idea. Parents, teachers and students will have an opportunity to comment further at that time. “After that each school building would have an opportunity to decide for themselves about exactly what they want,” added Anthony. “Under the law this is something that would have to come from the schools to us. We don’t want to impose anything.”
We wear short skorts: Kids model potential school uniforms for board members and parents
