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jcribbs@beaufortgazette.com
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Amid a public discussion Tuesday night on school calendars, Linda Pierce put it bluntly.
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"I pity the committee that has to come up with some schedule," said the mother from Lady's Island.
About 25 people showed up for a public forum Beaufort County Board of Education Chairman Fred Washington Jr. held to discuss issues from school calendars to a proposed mandatory, districtwide uniform policy.
But it was clear Tuesday -- as at past public meetings -- both the calendar and uniform issues have two entrenched sides, each with many supporters, and no matter what the board decides, some parents are going to be ticked.
The board plans to vote on a districtwide uniform policy Tuesday. Washington, who supports uniforms, said he was ready to be done with the issue so the board could move on.
"I'm one of those crazy folks that wanted this done two months ago," he said. "Yes, I'm about ready to see the end of this."
Most of the parents at the meeting, after expressing exasperation with students' dress, said they favored uniforms but were skeptical of the district's ability to enforce them. Jennifer Rentz, 37, of Lady's Island said she frequently walks into Lady's Island Middle School, which adopted a uniform policy last year, and sees students violating the dress code -- or "getting away with murder," as she said.
"It drove me nuts. It makes me crazy," said Rentz, who said she has been a substitute teacher. "That was the school that used to be the city on the hill: 'We are doing uniforms.'"
Andrea Canaday, 45, of Beaufort said parents should ensure their children attend school in appropriate clothing, not school officials. Robert Smalls Middle School requires her son to wear a belt, she said.
"If he doesn't wear the belt, I take the iPod. If he doesn't wear it the next day, I take the PlayStation," she said. "More parents need to be this way."
The districts expects to choose one calendar for all district schools by October. The district currently supports two calendars: traditional and year-round. Most people at Washington's meeting Tuesday supported traditional calendars. All of them were tired of having two.
Ron Wayne of Beaufort said he sends his two children to summer camp in Missouri but has to drive back and forth twice because his children start the school year at different times.
"It's broken up our vacations," he said. "It's been a horror story."
Elaine Senn, 44, of Lady's Island said her family moved here from Irmo area and didn't understand why the district allowed parents to choose their calendar. It didn't work that way Upstate, she said.
"Parents don't make decisions about calendars," she said. "It's just baffling to me."
Washington recognized the challenge the board faces.
"Whatever we come up with, someone's not going to like it," he said.
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