TAVARES, Fla. — The Lake County School District believes it's closer to finalizing a new dress code for students.
District leaders have been trying to iron out the issue for the last few years.
As students approach the close of another school year at Umatilla High most are not happy about what's coming next year.
"I don't really think any students like the idea," said 10th-grade student Preston Leonard.
The students might be forced to change clothes. The Lake County School Board wants uniforms in all the schools.
"The first thing is safety," said school board member Jim Miller.
Miller said uniforms improve discipline, and the grades follow. He insists it has worked in Osceola County schools.
"A lot of kids don't want to dress the same. But I think it'll put a stop to the bullying," said 10-grade student Cheyenne Hayes.
Carrie Combs will enroll her son Jace in school this fall. She said if all the students have to dress basically the same, that's fine with her.
"It's better for bullying and stuff, too. People won't make fun of others -- the way they're dressed," said Combs.
But Combs admits that there can be financial concerns.
"What are you going to tell some parents who might say 'Hey, you just handed me a big clothing bill?'" WFTV reporter Berndt Petersen asked Miller.
"Well, usually that's the more affluent parents who say that. The poor people haven't been telling me that," said Miller.
Regardless of income level, few students at dismissal time in Umatilla were dressed the way administrators would require them to dress next year.
"I don't really have a problem with uniforms. I don't mind wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants or whatever," said student Jason Wayland.
A final school board vote comes in June. It is expected that the meeting will be held before a packed house.