Austintown working on policy for uniforms

March 12, 2008 at 12:07a.m.

The superintendent hopes to get state reimbursement for the new middle school.

AUSTINTOWN — Pupils in the Austintown Local School District could find themselves wearing uniforms next school year.

School officials this week announced the formation of a committee to study the issue.

Superintendent Doug Heuer said Monday that school officials looked hard at establishing a policy that would have required pupils to wear uniforms at the new Austintown Middle School last year, just before it opened.

But officials felt it would be better to wait rather than start a new policy at the same time as the opening of the new school, Heuer said.

The goal of uniforms is to reduce the cost of clothing for parents by requiring pupils to wear certain types and colors of clothing, Heuer said. The policy would be for pupils of all ages, he said.

Chris Berni, an assistant principal at Austintown Middle School, said he proposed the middle school uniform policy after attending a training session in the Lowellville school district.

There, high school students wear a uniform consisting of a collared shirt, khaki or cargo-type pants, and skirts for girls — all in one of three colors of the student’s choosing.

He said he felt such a policy would eliminate a lot of distractions he encounters in classrooms in Austintown caused by sexually oriented, baggy or otherwise distracting clothes.

The committee made up of teachers, administrators and parents will examine policies in various districts to come up with one that fits Austintown, he said.

“Pop culture has such an influence on kids and really wants to tell kids what’s popular and how to fit in,” Berni said. “We’re saying that doesn’t reflect the positive learning environment we’re trying to promote.”

Meanwhile, the school board has approved a contract with EDP Consultants Inc., of Kirtland, to complete an environmental assessment of the former Austintown Middle School property on Mahoning Avenue at a cost of about $10,150. The 17-acre site, vacated by the school system last summer when pupils moved into the new Austintown Middle School, formerly contained two petroleum tanks that leaked, Heuer said.

The company will submit a report to the state fire marshal’s office within about six to eight months regarding the soil around two gas tanks installed on the property in 1989. Heuer said the company will conduct soil borings to determine whether there is petroleum contamination there. When that is complete, the state fire marshal is likely to advise the board on what additional work needs to be done to clean up the site, Heuer said.

In 2005, B&I Management, owners of the Austintown Plaza, offered to buy the former school site next to the plaza for $2.6 million but backed out last summer because a consultant found unacceptable levels of petroleum contamination there.

runyan@vindy.com