Janesville School Board OKs employee dress code
How they voted
The Janesville School Board voted 5-2 to adopt a staff dress code. Here's how they voted:
Yes: David DiStefano, Scott Feldt, Kristin Hesselbacher, Peter Severson and Bill Sodemann
No: Karl Dommershausen and Kevin Murray
Absent: Greg Ardrey and Deborah Schilling
JANESVILLE — A dress code for Janesville public school employees won't go into effect until July 1, 2013, Superintendent Karen Schulte said after the code was approved Tuesday.
The school board approved the code on a 5-2 vote.
Schulte noted that the code is a part of the employee handbook that will spell work rules and benefits. The handbook is not scheduled to take effect until July 1.
In the meantime, principals and other supervisors will continue to enforce employee dress standards as they do now, Schulte said after the meeting.
That means there may be inconsistencies, with one principal allowing blue jeans, for example, and another principal banning them, Schulte said.
Schulte had pointed to the inconsistencies as a major reason for the dress code, saying principals needed clearer rules to enforce.
The school board has no formal employee-dress policy, but it has adopted "standards of professional behavior" that state employees should dress appropriately.
Janesville School Board members Karl Dommershausen and Kevin Murray voted against the code, which was revised after an earlier draft raised questions and concerns.
Murray said the revision still needed work. He pointed to criticism the board heard Tuesday from local lawyer James Fowler, a former school board member who has followed the issue.
Fowler told the board the code has numerous instances of ambiguous or confusing language and recommended it be cleaned up before adoption.
Murray and Dommershausen said they don't like the process used for approving the code and other parts of the handbook. Murray said the entire handbook should be approved rather than the administration's piecemeal approach.
Murray said employees have not had the opportunity to discuss the changes with district officials, although he noted an email account was set up so employees could comment. Employees also have raised concerns at two school board listening sessions.
David DiStefano, who originated the idea, said the code could be changed if needed later. Schulte agreed.
DiStefano said the issue needed to be "put to bed."
Board President Bill Sodemann agreed the board should move on.
Sodemann said the code is more relaxed than in Waterford, where his cousin must wear a shirt and tie.
Sodemann said he was "amazed" at two TV cameras at the meeting.
"Slow news day, I guess, in Wisconsin," he said.
As in the original version, exceptions to the code include spirit days, casual Fridays and a variety of specialized jobs. The principal or supervisor is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the code.
The revision is shorter than the original draft and has numerous small changes. It allows Capri pants, for instance, whereas the original version banned them.
Schulte said she had listened to board members and staff comments in writing the revision.
The code says "employees are expected to dress in professional attire to best represent our school district." Allowed will be collared shirts, including polo shirts, turtlenecks, and casual or dress slacks including khakis and corduroys; sweaters; "formal professional attire"; women's skirts, dresses and blouses; athletic shoes in good condition; and "dress sandals."
Banned will be denim of any kind or color and clothing that causes distractions, is ill-fitting, reveals undergarments, is "provocative" or ragged.
Teachers union President Dave Parr said Monday that teachers accept requirements to dress professionally, but he was "stunned" the school board spent so much time on an issue that affects only a few teachers.
Dec 14, 2012 at 6:56 p.m.
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Thoughts and prayers to the families and innocent angels impacted by the selfish behavior of one man.
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Forget politics, choose LOVE not HATE!
Dec 14, 2012 at 11:17 a.m.
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"We ALREADY have well paid administrators that make in the range of 100K a year to enforce proper dress, if a person is inappropraitely dressed they are ther to do this already!! "
issue here is cry babies will say "why do I have to dress correctly. There isn't a RULE about it! MY union contract doesn't say I have to dress decent" bla bla bla
Dec 14, 2012 at 10:43 a.m.
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The Employees in the Janesville School District should have to comply by the same dress code that the students have to agree to follow every year.
Dec 14, 2012 at 10:15 a.m.
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"Employee Morale Improves With Casual Dress Code"
http://accounting.smartpros.com/x26280.x...
"Business Research Lab - Casual Dress Code"
http://www.busreslab.com/index.php/artic...
"Businesses Take Casual Attitude Toward Attire"
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/12/business...
And then we have Janesville that continues to take a step backwards with the new Dress Code rules. That time should have been on the achievement for every child in the district and not a dress code.
Dec 14, 2012 at 8:47 a.m.
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FearandRhetoric: Janesberg said, and I quote, "I was shocked at the attire of some teachers..."
So now the word 'some' is equal to 95%?
As many have pointed out, the real world of professionals (ie people smart enough to become a professional) have a dress code.
Any business that does not have specific rules regarding workplace conduct and dress will soon be visited by a discrimination lawsuit.
So fearandrhetoric, are you saying that the teaching profession is above all that?
Dec 14, 2012 at 7:54 a.m.
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fear,
Is your sample size large enough? What would offend you? Lee jeans-how about bellbottoms-maybe skortz? Is this offensive? Or are you one that says simply because you are not offended-there is no need for a dress code? Case closed? Maybe a portion of the union dues that teachers are forced to pay could be used to purchase stylish union made clothing-rather than spending it on democrat politicians?
I dont believe people who post here knew that you determined what is considered offensive and what are irrefutable facts. Who knew?
We need more local, state, and federal govt to help protect us from big denim.
I always look forward to your cogent and reasoned posts.
Dec 13, 2012 at 10:41 p.m.
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Love all of the conservative "freedom lovers" who seem to want al children dressed in their socially accptible view of the world.
I am NOT AT ALL opposed to teachers dressing well, 95% of them do, that is an irrefutable fact. Janesburgs assessment that they are all dressing like sluts and in torn jeans is ABSOLUTELY WRONG!! I HAVE Visited most of the schools and I honestly have never been offended by what a teacher wears.
What this is, is nothing more than cinformist far right wing nuts wanting Orda!!! We must have orda!! While screaming freedom out of the other side of their mouths.
We ALREADY have well paid administrators that make in the range of 100K a year to enforce proper dress, if a person is inappropraitely dressed they are ther to do this already!! This is nothing more than a stupid political ploy that makes certain conformists and angry old people happy. Keep posting crap about this is workplace dekorrum everywhere and you still look like the old man that is screaming at all the kids in the neighborhood "Get off my lawn!!"
Most people that are smart enough to become a teacher have the good sense to dress appropriately. Thos wh dont can be told otherwise by their administrators, before this stupid waste of time. Janesburg IS the laughing stock of the state right now. This was a TREMENDOUS waste of time and resources to accomplish really nothing
, other than making the crazy, weird , old school uniform crowd happy. What ever happened to freedom of choice? You people will not be happy until we are essentially a bunch of similarly dressed robots in cubicles. What a joke!!
Dec 13, 2012 at 8:51 p.m.
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li713 - I've worked for two Fortune 500 companies over the last 15 years, and both of them adopted "dress for your day" policies while I worked there. My experience would be completely contradictory to yours.
Also, I'd like a response from Dr. Schulte or rocksolid on this one - since "evidence-based leadership" is the new catchphrase, I'm curious to know how you'll be measuring the effectiveness of the new dress code as it impacts educational outcomes, student achievement, etc. It appears from what's been printed in the Gazette that the only thing you have "evidence" of is that other school districts are doing this, not that it actually impacts anything.
Dec 13, 2012 at 7:31 p.m.
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missmary- dress code doesn't mean uniforms. I thinnk uniforms would be a good idea. IF not uniforms at least uniformity. Khakis, polo or oxford. pick some colors. You can buy cheap at Goodwill or you can still go to the mall for the $80 one is you are rich and silly.
Dec 13, 2012 at 7:28 p.m.
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"dakman
Dec 13, 2012 at 4:14 p.m.
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Cruiser, I agree that some kids wear some pretty distasteful clothing, but who is it hurting? Individualism is an important facet of growing up and expressing yourself."
so lets pretend to be hookers and jailbirds- yep cool!
dress code for kids too!
Dec 13, 2012 at 7:21 p.m.
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mismary sunshine,
Comparison of prices between unregulated clothing and school uniforms show that school uniforms cost significantly less than unregulated clothing. Lefties like regulation-why not regulate what children can and should wear? It forces children to focus not on what type of denim they will wear-but on their classwork and homework. Afterall its for the children....
If there is evidence supporting that teachers teacher more effectively with a dress codely -sure there is evidence that links teachers expectations, results, and students dress codes? Anything to help boost the graduation rates and test scores of a stagnant district....bring on the student uniforms....raise my taxes to support the children!
Dec 13, 2012 at 5:37 p.m.
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In theory, perhaps a student dress code would make sense. But realistically, when about half of the students live in poverty, you can't enforce a specific "uniform" unless you want the school district to pay for it.
Dec 13, 2012 at 5:26 p.m.
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IF a dress code is good for the teachers and other district employees-it would be good for the students as well.
Dec 13, 2012 at 4:42 p.m.
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From a practical standpoint, this is counterproductive, not to mention, a waste of time & money.
A broad non-specific dress code produces better results, and can be enforced because it's up to judgement. The departing rule gives Schulte and board leeway to interpret what is professional attire, on case by case basis.
Under the new rule, if a teacher wants to wear something unprofessional, but still within the specs, then they can do so.
An extreme example of this is prison uniforms. That is where the droopy drawer style originated. Specific overregulation gives people incentive to find the loopholes. Surprising that patriots don't know this.
Dec 13, 2012 at 4:14 p.m.
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Cruiser, I agree that some kids wear some pretty distasteful clothing, but who is it hurting? Individualism is an important facet of growing up and expressing yourself.
Dec 13, 2012 at 4:11 p.m.
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Windy, I think what he meant by that is that there are more important issues that the school board could be dealing with.
Dec 13, 2012 at 1:45 p.m.
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I think this dress code is good, all for it, except there should also be one for the students, I mean really, look at the way the kids dress now days.
Dec 13, 2012 at 1:13 p.m.
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Rex: The dress code applies to all employees of the district. The school board members are not employees of the district, nor are they compensated in any way.
Dec 13, 2012 at 12:25 p.m.
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At least they didn't try to railroad it thru like Donna's mom did on 90210, granted that dress code was for students, but still...
Dec 13, 2012 at 11:16 a.m.
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Wearing Spandex, leggings, and the like are privileges, not rights. The board & administration are paid good money to finally enforce this.
Dec 13, 2012 at 10:42 a.m.
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li713- well said.
Dec 13, 2012 at 10:12 a.m.
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A dress code as a political agenda? Sounds logical to me. (THAT WAS SARCASM)
To me, anyone that has a serious problem with having a dress code or thinks it "takes us back 50 years" has probably never worked in a professional environment before. Every job I've ever had (including crappy retail jobs in high school and college) had a pretty specific dress code. Every professional I know working for both pubic entities and private companies has a dress code they are required to adhere to. We as employees don't have any say in it. We're not throwing hissy fits about it because A.) we recognize it is not unreasonable and B.) any other place we would go to work has a dress code also. This dress code the school board passed is not ridiculous or unreasonable. This is how the rest of the world operates. Welcome to it.
Dec 13, 2012 at 10 a.m.
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Windy, I guess you are not entitled to an opinion? It's a shame your thought has to be bully-attacked but that's the way some discuss issues.
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GoodforJanesberg is correct. Anyone that has been in a Janesville School knows that is a correct observation. It is far from all teachers dressing inappropriately but it is a few that have made it necessary to put a dress code in place. If some teachers didn't dress like they were going to a night club, this issue would have never been raised.
Dec 13, 2012 at 9:28 a.m.
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As with almost all employers, the School Board now has an enforcable set of rules regarding dress. Many deny that they have a dress code where they work, or even an employee handbook. If that is true they work for an employer that doesn't understand the legal implications of not having uniformally enforcable rules.
Appropriate attire, as was the previous rule, leads to defining appropriate.
Here are some examples of "appropriate" that I have observed from outside the school district.
- Wearing shorts, sandals, and a hawaiian shirts to weddings
- Wearing 'T' Shirts with sexual innuendos to church.
- Wearing pajamas in public, not for just a late night jaunt to the Kwik Trip, but to the mall and grocery store.
It becomes the old 'what the definition of 'is' is.
GoodforJanesberg pointed out some good examples.
Dec 13, 2012 at 8:12 a.m.
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Before commenting perhaps visits to the schools are in order. I was shocked at the attire of some teachers when I attended a music program at a Janesville school during normal school hours. The teacher knew that the program was open to parents, grandparents, etc and that his/her class was part of the program and still dressed so disgustingly. I asked another teacher how this individual was associated with the program and was told this person was a teacher.....honestly I was floored. On an ordinary school day I have visited and seen teachers looking great and teacher in shorts and tees, torn jeans (yes, I know they are the rage)semi see thru lacey tops, etc....not what I expected from teachers at all. Another thing I may add is the cluttered classrooms. I realize that there are more "learning tools" these days, but really. Check it out. I don't know how kids concentrate with all the chaos around them. If perhaps the surroundings were more serene Janesville kids' scores would go up and the teachers would have more time with the kids and less with the "decor" around them.
Dec 13, 2012 at 7:07 a.m.
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Got to agree with windy....how can Parr be "stunned" when the reason it was so drawn out was to entertain comments and suggestions from himself and those he represents? Is he also "stunned" that today is Thursday?
Dec 13, 2012 at 6:34 a.m.
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"Fearand..." Why is it O.K. for JEA union to push the political agenda of the Left, but you speak against imagined Right agenda?
. . .
Many, many educators are centrist and right leaning, but are outnumbered by the other side, so not a surprise that political candidate "endorsements" are tossed to predictable party! And of course that support appears in newspaper and on-line news, which will help some [ many? ] voters decide which ballots to cast.
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It should come as no surprise then, that more and more folks are supporting Right to Work laws. Why would I as teacher want my union dues [MANY hundreds of dollars! ] to do towards de facto support of a candidate or political party whose positions I don't approve of.!?
Dec 13, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.
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W I N D Y - Besides being silly your comments are actually very comical. Have you considered writing comedy for an occupation? Are you really being serious - I guess you are??? Our School Board has taken us back 50 years. The guy that started the dress code idea was the same guy that had the following information on him in the Gazette - "Tricor bid to be the School District's insurance comsultant earlier this year, but the School District chose another bidder" (From the Gazette Nov. 23, 2011)
http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/nov/23/...
Good story here as some of the School Board members actually say that what they are wearing now would VIOLATE the Dress Code.
http://www.communityshoppers.com/headlin...
Dec 12, 2012 at 11:57 p.m.
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Janesville is OFFICIALLY a laughing stock thanks to the board. Funniest part of the article was Bill S acting as if he doesn't just LOVE being in front of the camera. Remember when he and Schulte were just begging the JEA to open their contract lsat year? Now we know wh they didn't. Again this has NOTHING to do with educating kids, nothing at all. This is nothing about role models. This is about a bunch of conformists that claim to be for freedom when it affects their pocketbooks, but want everyone to look like them.
This town needs one on one Board elections. Lets people see the candidates individually and ask the questions of them that can help us make educated decisions about who is on their board of education. It is my contention in a community that is very pro-public education in general like Janesville would NEVER elect conservative tea party activists like Sodemann, Distefano, Feldt, and Severson. These people are NOT interested in bettering education, they are in it to push a political agenda, nothing more. Time to make this change Janesville, soon, before its too late. Unfortunately it already seems that it is.
Beloit/Madison both elect their board members this way, why can't we?
Dec 12, 2012 at 11:53 p.m.
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I'd have no problem with this dress code, as long as the school board and all other employees of the school district have to adhere to the same requirements, what's good for the goose....
Dec 12, 2012 at 11:27 p.m.
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Well at least teachers can still wear ironic glasses, converse shoes, layered cowboy or plaid shirts and corduroy pants.
Dec 12, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.
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Dave Parr said "he was 'stunned' the school board spent so much time" on this issue. Really? If the teachers didn't have any input, similar to most people in most enterprises, it could have been handled quickly by upper management (i.e. the school board). However, if you value having the opportunity to question, complain, support or seek changes, it will take time, both on the calendar and in meeting time discussion. So, which does he value as the representative of union members?
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