Accountability.

That’s the new buzz-word within the Judson School District. We hear the new school board trustees tell us how they want to be responsible and accountable to the residents, students and employees of the district.

Tuesday night, we’ll see just how “accountable” this board chooses to be.

Since his December 2007 arrival, Judson Superinten-dent Dr. Willis Mackey has brought the proverbial “breath of fresh air” to a district that’s been shy of stamina. Mackey has rigorously policed the district’s building process, which devolved into a state of disarray shortly after he arrived.

And while trustees are thankful for his diligence on such topics as the D.W. Rutledge Stadium rebuild, several have expressed openly their wishes for him to turn away from the work sites and aim that same passion on the district’s curriculum, academics and testing.

One topic that has resurfaced under Mackey’s new reign is the idea of a district-wide dress code. Currently, six elementary schools operate under a “standardized dress code” that limits student apparel to items such as khaki slacks and button-up collared shirts.

At its May 15 meeting, the district voted 4-2 (with one abstention) to approve expanding the elementary dress code throughout the entire system, kindergarten through 12th grade. However, due to a lack of specifics and legal review, the district put off that final vote for a special meeting Tuesday, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center on Schaefer Road.

Remember … it’s all about “accountability.”

At its May 15 meeting, the board heard of academic improvements made by schools currently operating with standardized dress codes. But current facts don’t support those assumptions.

The Texas Education Agency’s “District Account

ability Summary” judges schools to be either Exem-plary, Recognized, Academic-ally Acceptable or Low-Performing, based on a state formula that takes several academic and educational factors into consideration.

In 2002, four Judson elementary schools received “Exemplary” ratings: Con-verse, Hopkins, Spring Meadows and Woodlake. Woodlake, as a matter of fact, was being recognized for its fifth consecutive “Exemplary” rating. All were achieved without the mandatory “standardized dress code” in place.

About the same time these “Exemplary” ratings came out, Judson was readying its “standardized dress code” for the following school year, as parents at six of the district’s 13 elementaries voted to adopt it.

However, since the inception of the standardized dress code, not a single Judson school has received an “Exemplary” rating. Not one.

None in 2004 (2003 was lumped into the 2004 rating, as a multi-year summary). None in 2005. None in 2006 or 2007, for that matter.

In fact, all six schools that adopted standardized dress saw their pre-dress code rankings drop:

• Converse, Spring Mead-ows and Woodlake dropped from “Exemplary” in 2002 to “Recognized” in 2004, the TEA’s next year for ratings.

• The other three — Coronado Village, Miller’s Point and Olympia — all dropped from “Recognized” in 2002 to “Academically Acceptable” by 2005.

• Olympia parents voted to eliminate standardized dress a few years ago — just after being rated “Academically Acceptable.” Olympia has since returned to “Recogn-ized” … without standardized dress.

Looks like academic success and dress codes have little in common!

While much of this may seem confusing, it’s a lesson in “accountability.” The district is attempting to force a dress code down its students’ and parents’ throats that has no direct correlation to academic improvement in the Judson district. None whatsoever.

What Judson needs is to enforce the dress code already in place. At the May 15 meeting, board Trustee Richard LaFoille said he objected to the sagging, baggy shorts worn by many students. “I see it everywhere,” he said.

Don’t board members know that “saggy, bagging shorts” are already a violation of the Judson dress code policy? The “Adopted 2007-2008 Secondary Dress Code” for secondary schools explicitly states, “No baggy or sagging oversized clothing with oversized pockets is allowed.”

If sagging, baggy shorts are already against the dress code, why are so many students being allowed to wear them every day? Why is it tolerated? Who’s to blame here?

Mackey needs to insist that high school principals Don Pittman (Judson High) and Rob Fields (Wagner High) begin to enforce what they have seemed to have turned a blind eye to for so long.

Mackey needs to reassemble his principals and staff and tell them, “Look, we have a dress code. I want it enforced from Day One, when the new school year begins. No exceptions. Just do it.”

Mackey needs to hold his administrators “accountable” for upholding high school codes of conduct and dress — BEFORE he attempts to introduce a highly volatile and deeply divisive directive that’s not needed in the first place.

It’s simple: Forbid what’s already prohibited, enforce the previously set standards, and get back to teaching our children.

Oh, by the way, this “Adopted 2007-2008 Second-ary Dress Code?” Who do you think “adopted” it in the first place? Why, this board of education, of course!

It’s all about accountability, folks. On every level. A “standardized dress code” isn’t the answer; the TEA “accountability” ratings show that. The answer lies in finding administrators who aren’t afraid to enforce their existing dress code.

It’s called “Accountability.”

Flinn can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it