A Tamaqua Area School District parent expressed her displeasure in the district’s dress code on Tuesday, but changes are unlikely, said Larry Wittig, school board president.

Desiree Ulicki of Tamaqua said she has two boys in the district and they love school, but she isn’t pleased with the dress code, saying other districts have relaxed their rules.

Her gripe stems from wanting to buy quality, designer clothing, which will hold up and be handed down. Designer clothing often has some form of insignia or logo, such as the double Gs of Gucci or the polo player of Ralph Lauren, she said.

Tamaqua Area’s dress code does not permit logos on clothing or shoes.

“Everything has a logo,” Ulicki said. “Everything has a small logo.”

She said she would like the board to consider that she as the parent is buying the clothing for her children, not buying uniforms.

“Maybe I prefer something more high-end, because he walks over a mile (to school,)” she said, referring to shoe choice.

Ulicki said she grew up wearing a uniform in Catholic school, and doesn’t have a problem with uniforms, but the district’s policy allows parents to purchase clothes of their choice, not a specific uniform.

“This isn’t because my kids want to wear ripped jeans,” she said.

She pulled one of her boys out of school last year, because he got flagged for the dress code wearing a full suit with a mock turtleneck.

“It’s not to impress anyone,” Ulicki said about her kids’ clothing choices, but quality, and she will only buy one of an item. “You get one (and wear it) until the (belt) buckle falls to the ground.”

Wittig said they have a dress code as an inexpensive way to ensure that everyone looks similar without having things such as Gucci.

The district went with a dress code years ago for several reasons, one being because cliques or gangs identified with certain forms of clothing or logos.

“So this kind of took that away,” he said. “Now, it has evolved through time with parental acceptance.”

The board has taken the approach that they will only tweak the dress code when absolutely needed, Wittig said.

“Once you start changing things, as benign as it sounds, like we add another color, or have pink shoelaces or Gucci belts, that is the erosion of - ultimately becomes the demise of - what we have,” he said.

Wittig pointed to Mount Carmel Area School District, which allowed red and white shirts and khaki pants only, he said.

“If you go there now, you won’t recognize that, because other boards throughout time have just slowly gotten away from the major mission and it disappears,” he said.

Wittig said that they do listen to parents and will consider change, if it benefits students and the overall experience.

But the board has taken a stance that it stands by the dress code, he said.

“It is what it is,” Wittig said. “We’re going to stick with what we have.”