DISTRICT MAY ADD UNIFORMS MAY 14 HEARING SEEKS INPUT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Students at Cole Middle School may join their younger counterparts at Eastside Elementary School in wearing uniforms.

After a parent survey elicited a low response, trustees have decided to hold a public hearing at a board meeting next month on whether to require uniforms at the middle school.

``We would like to see more input before we initiate a uniform policy,'' Superintendent Connie Webb said. ``The board was disappointed in the number of responses we received.''

The board will hold the hearing at its May 14 meeting at 6 p.m. at the new district office, 45006 30th Street East.

If approved, uniforms will be phased in by grade over the next three years, beginning with sixth-graders next school year, Webb said.

The district mailed 841 surveys on uniforms to parents of fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders, and only 84 were returned, Webb said.

Of the 84, half were for it and half were against it. ``It's an iffy kind of issue,'' Webb said.

The board wants to have uniforms at the upper grades in the belief it will help promote safety on campus and impart to students the seriousness of school.

``It helps with behavior. It helps to give the idea that it is an important job - you are not coming here to play, you are coming to study,'' Webb said.

Students at kindergarten- through fifth-grade Eastside Elementary School began wearing uniforms of dark blue pants and skirts with white collared shirts this school year.

The board approved uniforms at only Eastside because it was the only one of the four district schools where parents and staff favored the use of student uniforms.

The idea for uniforms came from board members who wanted to have safer campuses following the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado in April 1999.

Many parents said they thought uniforms would create a more positive atmosphere and lead to fewer discipline problems among students.

The district has 2,500 students.