Representing the voices of a number of parents who opposed the separate school board’s decision was Sharmila Kulkarni of the Parent Coalition for Reasonable Uniform Policy. Kulkarni addressed trustees at last Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting, outlining her concerns to board officials on the policy's unfairness.

The decision to amend the 2004 elementary school uniform policy would require parents to purchase uniform pieces from board-approved suppliers as these suppliers would have the exclusive rights to the school's logo, which would then need to be embroidered on uniform tops.

Members of the Parent Coalition for Reasonable Uniform Policy believe that cresting should be optional. “The evidence shows that mandatory cresting restricts choice, limits uniform reuse and perhaps most significantly, embroidered shirts purchased from uniform suppliers cost up to three times the price of comparable shirts at other retailers,” said Kulkarni.

Currently, each elementary school across the board has its own uniform cresting policy, which was implemented following discussions with the school's principal, parent council and the school community. Some elementary schools, including Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carlisle, require students to sport the school's crest, whether the logo is embroidered or patched on. However, at St. Joseph's in Hamilton, the issue of uniform cresting is left up to the parents.

“Some parents prefer crests, some parents prefer no crests,” noted Kulkarni. “This range of preferences can be accommodated by a universal, optional cresting policy that respects parents' rights to choose where they acquire their children's uniforms.”

According to PCRUP, short-sleeved golf shirts that adhere to the board's uniform policy can be purchased at various retail locations, including The Gap, Old Navy, The Children's Place and Giant Tiger, which charge $19.50, $10.50, $14.50 and $5.97 respectively for white tops. Board-approved suppliers, including RJ McCarthy and Bombardieri, charge $16.

“If in fact you can purchase a similar product at a lesser amount, I've never had a problem with that because it made sense,” said trustee Raymond Bartolotti.

Noting the benefits of uniforms, the trustee for Wards 9-11 stressed his beliefs that uniforms save parents money and have provided a sense of equity between “individuals who had and individuals who did not have.”

However, Bartolotti questioned the basis of the trustee's discussions over mandatory embroidered cresting and the confusion that reigned around the board table at last Tuesday's meeting.

“How we got into this bloody mess over a friggen crest, I cannot believe it. We are all aggravated, we are arguing against each other over what, a lousy crest? It doesn't make sense. We've closed schools without this much aggravation,” he said.