TIFTON — Klinton Guess presented the tentative 2017-2018 budget to the Tift County Board of Educational at its May 9 meeting.

Total estimated revenues are projected at approximately $63 million, and projected expenditures are approximately $62 million.

The budget is slated to be considered for final adoption by the board on June 13 at the 6 p.m. meeting.

The board heard a proposal from Omega Elementary and Charles Spencer Elementary to change the dress code to require all students to wear uniforms.

Dr. Victoria Melton, principal of Omega Elementary, and Tammy Corbin, principal at Charles Spencer, both informed the board that their Local School Governance Teams had voted to approve uniforms and were requesting permission from the board to change the school’s dress code.

The proposed uniform colors would be white, navy, gray and khaki. All shirts must have a collar, and dresses, shorts and skirts must be knee length.

Branding logos on shirts, such as the Polo or Lacoste symbol, would be permitted, as would the Tift County “T.”

According to the proposal, there would be dress down days where students will be allowed to wear clothing of their choice, provided the clothing meets with dress code standards.

School Superintendant Patrick Atwater said that they were hoping for uniformity across all the schools with regard to uniforms, should all the schools decide to adopt them.

Charles Spencer and Omega are planning to implement uniforms for the 2017-2018 school year.

In the days after the meeting, more schools in the system joined them in adopting a uniform dress code, according to a Facebook post from Tift County School System.

Those schools include Annie Belle Clark Primary, G.O. Bailey Primary, Len Lastinger Primary, Northside Primary and Matt Wilson Elementary.

Tift County High School Principal Kim Seigler also presented the board with amendments to the high school dress code, which the school is considering for next school year.

The TCHS LSGT proposed that earrings be allowed for male and female students and that bandanas be prohibited.

They also proposed changes to how the length of skirts, dresses and shorts is measured.

The new standards say that the length must be no shorter than three inches above the bend of the knee.

Seigler said that this change was made to take into account how difficult it is for taller students to find clothing that meets the old standards.

Female students are also going to be allowed to wear tunic style shirts that extend beyond the hips.

According to the previous dress code, any shirts that extend below the hips must be tucked in. Seigler said that changes to the dress code were made to reflect what is actually being offered in the stores, and that members of the LSGT did extensive research on clothing styles before proposing these changes.

Tunics must be worn with skirts, shorts or pants no shorter than three inches above the bend in the knee, and are not allowed with tights, leggings or jeggings.

Representatives from the Len Lastinger Primary School’s PTO presented a proposal for new playground equipment for the school.

The PTO played a short video that they made as part of a grant application to KaBOOM!, which is a national non-profit “dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids, particularly those growing up in poverty in America,” according to the organization’s mission statement.

The grant would bring an “interactive, experiential, all-inclusive play park” that would be for community use and would meet a wide variety of student needs, and would rely on community volunteers to build, should the school be awarded the grant.

Dr. Kim Ezekiel updated the board about the May 5 curriculum committee meeting.

Annie Belle Clark will be coming off the Focus schools list while Len Lastinger will remain.

Focus schools are defined by having an achievement gap. Len Lastinger is appealing the decision to leave them on the list.

Ezekiel then turned the floor over to Jonathan Judy, who presented a proposal to the board to ensure that every 9-12 grade student has a laptop.

The plan, called the 1:1 Initiative, will guarantee that students have a device for their use throughout their high school career. Judy said that, since more and more learning options are either online or computer based, it is important that each student have guaranteed access to a computer.

“Our goal is to create 21st century learners with a diverse knowledge of technology devices,” according to the presentation.

If the proposal is approved, the plan will be implemented beginning July 2017.

The CTI state competition winners, the FFA winners and the Eighth Street Middle School’s FBLA winners were recognized by the board.

The board approved two fundraising project requests, seven trip requests, a bus request from the Georgia Forestry Pageant and Educational Association and approved the movement of books, VHS tapes and office equipment into surplus.