Parent says crackdown on shoes turns little things into problems

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Ashley Taylor, is a junior at Chaney High School and was told her shoes, which have red stitching and partially red soles, don't meet the Youngstown city school's dress code. She faces a three-day in-school suspension for the infraction.

YOUNGSTOWN — LaJena Sullivan of Parkwood Avenue said she and her two East High School children were told at orientation before school started that they could have some color on their shoes.

Now, they are being told that they can’t, Sullivan told the city school board Tuesday, asking why the dress code was changed.

Students have been put into in-school suspension for violation of the shoe portion of the code, Sullivan said, adding that she believes the district is making problems over little things.

Her son wears a size 14 shoe and they aren’t cheap, she said, suggesting that she will just keep him home instead of having to buy more school uniforms.

The city’s high schools cracked down on shoe violations last week, finding a total of 165 offenders at East and Chaney high schools.

Sullivan may have been the only parent to address the board on the issue when it met at Paul C. Bunn Elementary School, but a number of others in the audience openly applauded her comments.

One woman who failed to register to address the board before the meeting as required said she wanted to talk about the mismatched shoes the district got for her son to wear to comply with the dress code. She pulled the shoes out of a box and laid them on the stage in front of the board before turning and walking out of the room.

“The policy has not changed,” said Shelley Murray, school board president.

Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, said enforcement may have been a bit lax last year but the high school students were warned numerous times that there would be a dress code crackdown last week, and 2,323 students showed up with the proper footwear, she said.

This isn’t about trying to tell parents how to raise kids and it’s not a contest, she said. This is about academics, not who has the sharpest shoes, she said, adding that the district wants the children focused on education.

The dress code was developed a decade ago for safety reasons, she said, explaining that sometimes children with designer clothing didn’t always make it back home with that clothing. Others took it away from them, she said.

Webb offered to meet with any parent to discuss the dress code or any other issue.

The district has a program to help buy uniform clothing for those who can’t afford it, she added.