CHARDON, Ohio — Is it a question of morality, or breaking the rules? That's what students are grappling with in Chardon after a school board member took it upon himself to monitor the dress code.
It started with a complaint from Chardon Local Schools Board of Education member Todd Albright about the way district students dress. Albright was elected to the board in November of 2021.
Then, there was a Facebook post from a concerned parent who believes Albright went too far and overstepped his job title by standing on a street corner off of school property and judging the clothing choices of students. Sara Koch Haueter wrote that Albright's actions were "not in the interest of our children, but in the interest of his own personal beliefs on morality."
Chardon Local Schools confirmed in a letter obtained by 3News that Albright stood on a corner off school property on multiple occasions watching middle and high school students on a busy walking route to and from school. He was looking for what he considered dress code violations.
You can read the letter below:
"My sister's in the middle school, I know some of her friends have come home complaining to their parents like 'this guy, he pointed us out, he was seriously on the street corner and it was like scary, they were intimidated," Chardon High School student Devney Rich told 3News.
Rich feels a line has been crossed with Albright's actions and is now planning a protest for Monday.
"This protest is just to say we are comfortable in our clothing, no one is complaining about it but you. You are making us more uncomfortable than we can be making anyone through our clothing," Rich said.
The district confirmed in the letter that not only did Albright stand observing, he reached out to Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon and principals of both the middle and high schools, who stood on the corner with him on August 31 as students headed home.
"When you're being told what to wear because it has someone, their sense of 'this is my moral, it should be your moral,' I find that inappropriate," Rich said.
The action of observing the clothing students are wearing off school property, is what has angered Rich and many others who now plan to join the protest.
Rich would also like to start a recall petition for Albright.
We reached out to Todd Albright and spoke with him briefly on Wednesday, but he was unable to do an interview.
Below is the Facebook post from Chardon parent
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