ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY)– Months of controversy over uniform shorts being worn in St. Martin Parish schools came to an end after the school board voted at their Oct. 4 meeting to allow students to wear them next year.

Candace Mire, a mother of two, fought to the end to give all students in St. Martin Parish the right to wear shorts, and said it felt amazing to be a voice for others.

“I personally have been fighting for it since August, right before school started, but I know many other people have tried bringing this up to the school board for years,” Mire said. “It’s always been shutdown, so its been an ongoing battle for it.”

Mire said she was the only parent going to the school board meetings, but received so much support from others who felt like they could not speak up.

“I was going alone,” Mire said. “I was at the meeting by myself. Somebody reached out to me one day and told me that I have so much support backing me up. A lot of people are just unable to voice their opinions publicly. Not many people’s parents can take off to do this. There’s a lot of different reasons.”

Mire wanted the school board to listen to parents about what is best for students.

“There’s so many different people from so many different backgrounds,” she said. “Just because you believe in one thing doesn’t mean that all these kids or all these parents in this public school abide by the same thing. We are these children’s parents. We are their voice, and we know what’s best for them.”

Mire urges everyone to use their voice if they want change to happen anywhere.