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By Michael Sluss
RICHMOND
Legislators representing some of Virginia’s notable tourist destinations spoke out today against Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to scrap a state law requiring the school year to begin after Labor Day.
McDonnell said earlier this month that he supports repealing a law that requires local school divisions to begin classes after the first Monday in September unless they have a waiver from the state. Lobbyists for the state’s hospitality and travel industries argue that repealing the school calendar law would put a dent in the state’s economy by shrinking the summer tourism season.
A handful of legislators led by Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James County, held a news conference Wednesday to reinforce that message before legislators act on bills to repeal the post-Labor Day start date. A Senate committee is scheduled to take up school calendar legislation Thursday morning and House subcommittee has 10 school calendar bills on its docket for Thursday evening.
Norment said tourism generates about $1.3 billion in revenue for local governments “which is very significant, not just to the Historic Triangle area that I represent, but to other areas of Virginia.”
Del. Sal Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach, said starting the school year before Labor Day also hurts tourism because parents begin preparing for a new school year weeks in advance, using weekends to shop for supplies.
“What we’re going to have to do is stop our planning, stop our vacations, stop our going to the beach and purchasing things at the beach and going to the restaurants,” said Iaquinto, who succeeded McDonnell in the House of Delegates. “This will stop us from spending the money from Virginia Beach residents in Virginia Beach.”
McDonnell wants to let local school boards decide when to start the school year, but said he also wants them to consider the impact their decisions will have on their local economies.
Under existing law, local school boards must obtain a “good cause” waiver from the Department of Education in order to start classes before Labor Day. School divisions typically can obtain a waiver if they compile a certain number of weather-related school closings over a fixed period of time. This year, 77 of the state’s 132 school systems have waivers from the state.
McDonnell said earlier this month that his proposal would “maximize flexibility” for local school boards and serve as a first step in a longer-range effort to expand instructional time for students to meet increasingly rigorous academic standards.
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Kids need time to be kids
Summer is so important to a kid's mental health. They are not automatons. They are kids!
The Summer Season is Already Shortened
The fact that forty-eight and a half states (the exceptions are Michigan and the portion of Virginia that doesn't gain the existing exemption) already restart school in August means that the summer season is shortened already. With everyone else already in school, weekdays during August are already part of the shoulder season, and high schoolers are still available during those weekends.
The tourist industry is short handed in the first part of June, when the high schoolers are still finishing up. They should be reversing the argument and lobbying for mandatory completion of the school year by Memorial Day. That will match the realities of their market.
Undeniable truths
1. More classes in August make no difference on May tests.
2. Just because school may start in June doesn't mean it will end earlier in June. Expect longer "breaks"
3. I'll put Virginia Beach's test scores up against any school division that starts in August. Bet I know who wins.
4. Teachers who complain about SOLs should use June classes to teach those things they whined that they couldn't teach because of the SOLs.
What does this say about our commitment to education?
In Virginia Beach, you'd be hard pressed to find many local students working in the hotel industry any more. (Lots of locals. Just not students.) Even when there used to be more local kids working in the industry they'd typically quit the week or two before Labor Day and leave hotels and restaurants high and dry for that last big holiday weekend. It's no wonder the industry has had to find a more dependable labor force, as well as one that can work through the increasingly important shoulder seasons. Busch Gardens went so far as to buy a motel or two to house its European workers.
maybe not Hotels
what about lifeguards, older high schoolers, granted, restaurants, shops at the beach, the water park, etc. It isn't only hotels that are part of that economy.