SUNNYSIDE -- Students here will not have to wear uniforms this fall.

In spite of two years of pleading from parents, the Sunnyside School Board decided Thursday night not to require school uniforms.

Miguel Puente, board president, called uniforms a quick fix to problems with attendance, low math scores and gang involvement.

"All we really have put on the issue is a coat of paint," he said.

Board members said research about school uniforms is inconclusive about whether they help academic performance or safety.

"I'm still looking for enough evidence to show that requiring all students to wear a uniform is going to help us," Stephen Carpenter said.

Rick Cole, district superintendent, said other school district officials in the state tell him that students find a way to misbehave regardless of what they are wearing. He's heard of students twisting colored thread around the buttons of their school uniforms to display gang colors.

A small but vocal group of parents wanted to try uniforms anyway.

"It wouldn't hurt to try it for a year," Jesus Madrigal told the board.

About 60 people packed the meeting room.

The parents have been lobbying for uniforms for two years, convinced they would make schools safer, take away fashion pressure and make back-to-school shopping less expensive.

"Safety does matter in their learning," said Selene Zapata, a mother of two students.

Overall parental support has been hard to gauge.

A parent survey last spring had poor participation. Only 23 percent of the district's parents filled it out. Still, of the parents who did respond, 78 percent said they favored uniforms.

Participation was higher among students and school staff members, Cole said. About half the staff members favored uniforms while about 70 percent of students did not like the idea.

Board members Puente, Carpenter and Lorenzo Garza turned down the uniforms.

Rocky Simmons voted against those board members because he wanted to postpone a decision until after hearing from teachers and administrators.

Joanne Kilian was absent.

Union Gap students will wear uniforms

Had Sunnyside's uniform policy passed, it would not have been the first in the Yakima Valley.

The Union Gap School District is implementing a school uniform for the first time this fall. It requires all 600-plus pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students to wear white, gray or black polo shirts.

Superintendent Kurt Hilyard said the idea was proposed by parents and staff a year ago. A survey was mailed to parents and staff last fall. Of those polled, 82 percent of parents and 84 percent of staff supported uniforms.

The Union Gap school board adopted the policy in April.

In it, students face punishments for violating the dress code.

The school will call a parent on the first offense and a teacher will assign after-school detention on the second offense. Continued noncompliance could result in suspension or expulsion.

Hilyard stressed students will still be allowed to wear football jerseys on game days, Boy Scout or Girl Scout uniforms and Booster Club colors.

By having uniforms, though, he said parents will save money on back-to-school clothes, gang activity will be deterred and staff will more easily spot who does not belong at the school.

"It sends the message that it's important to come to school dressed appropriately," Hilyard said. "We want our kids to dress for success."

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.