Pocola teachers have restricted wear

POCOLA, Okla. (AP) -- Students don't have to worry about the new dress code at Pocola Public Schools. It's the teachers who will be checking their closets. The school board has approved a revised

Tuesday, November 30th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

POCOLA, Okla. (AP) -- Students don't have to worry about the new dress code at Pocola Public Schools. It's the teachers who will be checking their closets. The school board has approved a revised dress code for teachers and administrators for the LeFlore County district of 850 students in eastern Oklahoma.

The restriction was needed after too many teachers were dressing down in things like shorts and T-shirts, Superintendent Tony Pivec said. "If we are going to pay ourselves as professionals, we need toact, dress and hold ourselves accordingly," he said. Skirt hemlines at the knee were too reportedly happy to play dress-up, but some are less than thrilled about the mandatory wear.

"Some of us felt we could have just been told," music teacher Diann Masengale said. After some debate and compromise, a final dress code was passed. Men must wear: collared shirts, slacks, pants, dress shoes, boots, non-athletic shoes and some types of tennis shoes. The woman are allowed: collared shirts, blouses, slacks, dress shoes and boots, sandals and skirts at or below the knees.

Unlike the students' dress code, staff members can wear blue jeans on Fridays. Students also must wear skirts that go past their knees. "The more serious the teacher is, the more serious all of the students are going to be," said Pocola High School Principal Steve McGinnis. "Then we're on task." Pivec, who is only 29, said he has always been old-fashioned, while his generation has been more casual. "I don't agree with a lot of thing that have gone on before," he said. "I'm really from 20 years before."