source of problems.Student comments about the kind of clothes other students wear often lead to arguments over who has better clothes,he said.

"Some type of uniform would take care of a lot of discipline probems,"Gurrera told the school board Monday."It 's 50 percent of our problems."

Lori Graham,former president of the Farrell Elementary Parent Teachers Organization, said she has seen the harm that students can do to each other over clothing. "A lot of kids get to making jokes about kids who can 't afford to dress certain ways,"she said."That makes it pretty

sad."Uniforms also would save money for parents because they wouldn 't have to worry about keeping their kids in the latest fashions for school,Gurrera said.

Superintendent Richard R.Rubano Jr.said any investigation of uniforms should includestudents,parents,the district steering committee and other community members,not justschool personnel.

"This isn 't something you do right away,but it 's something you have open and frank discussions about," Rubano said.. High School Principal Charles Sanitate said he doesn 't have a problem with uniforms,and school board mem-

ber Lester Robinson Jr.said he has seen studies showing that students improve when they wear uniforms. Ms.Graham,who no longer has children in the elementary,said she supports uniforms in the elementary school and has talked about it with other parents and grandparents.

"Some of them said they wouldn 't mind uniforms,"she said,adding that she would like to see occasional dress-up days in the elementary. But,Ms.Graham thinks students at the high school should be allowed to choose their own clothes.

High school students are more mature and are more interested in other things,she said.

"I haven 't heard too many people joking about clothes at the high school,"said Ms.Gra ham,who has a son in high school and older son who just graduated.

She added that students are voted "best dressed "by the peers each year.

"That 's been a tradition at Farrell for some time,"she said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharon-herald.com