DIANE MAYHEW
WESTFIELD – The dust has settled from the controversial re-enforcement of the district’s dress code last fall, and now an effort is being made to ensure that similar actions are not deemed necessary again in the future.
At a meeting of the Westfield School Committee Monday evening, Human Resources and Policy Subcommittee Chair Diane Mayhew spoke on that subcommittee’s progress on improving the dress code.
“It’s still in the works. Hopefully we can have it completed for the fall,” said Mayhew. “We feel that the way the policy sits now is adequate, but does need a little bit more definition of specific items of clothing.”
Mayhew listed as prohibited “low-slung trousers and muscle shirts” for male students, along with “bareback midriffs, short shorts and skirts”, which she said were “self-explainatory” and stated that the latter clothing items were “already in the policy.”
KEVIN J. SULLIVAN
“The decision on whether a child’s clothing is appropriate or not or disrupts educational purposes, will be made by the building principal or designee,” she said prior to referencing other changes the subcommittee has taken up. “Each individual building principal (will decide) which clothing items will be specific to their own buildings and levels, whether it be elementary, middle or high (school).”
“It’ll be an ongoing discussion yearly, as clothing trends change,” Mayhew said. “It’s not a discussion that starts and stops. It’s continual.”
“The other important thing is that the students themselves are going to be involved in discussions and decision-making,” said Westfield Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion.
Following Mayhew’s report, Finance Subcommittee Chair Brian Sullivan gave an update on the status of the district’s budget situation.
“It was a very productive meeting,” Sullivan said of Monday’s Finance Subcommittee meeting held prior to the full School Committee meeting. “As far as the timeframe, we have a meeting with the Mayor on Thursday, but we don’t have set numbers from the state yet. As it always is this time of year – early May to early June – the budget is moving a little bit.”
Sullivan stated that he spoke with Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik earlier that day, adding that he was informed that things would be more solidified on the state’s end by Thursday.
“He (Knapik) is going to have more concrete advice for us on Thursday, so we will see where we are,” he said. “Obviously, the budget as it stands right now is still somewhat in flux and short of where we’d like to be as dollars and cents go. We’ll have to make some decisions.”
“When we determine what we’re looking at with some more concrete numbers, we’ll set up a subcommittee meeting to firm up what our recommendation is going to be and what we’re going to approve,” he said. “Ultimately, the Mayor is looking for us to get a budget to him sometime mid- to late-May that he can present to the City Council at their first meeting in June. So we would to have our budget ready to go to him sometime within the next two to three weeks.”
“It’s going to change, if not by Thursday, than certainly within the next week or two,” he said. “Within the next two weeks, we on the subcommittee can come up with more concrete numbers to move along to City Hall and ultimately the City Council.”
