Mandating start of school: State legislators eye Labor Day requirement

By Matt Whetstone
8/22/2005
Cadillac News

Polls indicate that Michigan residents want schools to begin instruction after Labor Day.

Schools, however, maintain that local control is still the best policy.

Meanwhile, the tourism industry believes that placing a mandate on school start dates would help the state's economy by giving families a few more weeks to travel and to squeeze in a late summer vacation.

Already, the Michigan House of Representatives passed the legislation 69 to 40 and the state senate is set to handle it next.

"If schools were attendant to the desires of parents, this would have passed a decade ago," said Steve Yencich, president and CEO of the Michigan Hotel, Motel and Resort Association.

An EPIC-MRA poll conducted statewide in July 2004 showed that 60 percent of residents favored starting school after Labor Day with 23 percent opposed and 17 percent undecided. In northern Michigan, 73 percent were in favor, 14 percent opposed and 13 percent are undecided.

For the tourism industry, Yencich argues that beginning school before Labor Day takes 25 percent of the prime travel season, the months of July and August. Legislators have been responsive and Yencich said he believes the measure will pass in the state senate.

However, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will not sign the bill if it is passed.

"That does not mean she won't veto it," Yencich said. "She has worked hard to build rapport with the tourism industry - ultimately, she understands the economic impact and the desires of the voters."

Still, schools want to keep local control. Barb Kirkby, a Marion School Board member, said board members know their district's needs better than legislators.

Although Marion is beginning school after Labor Day this year, Kirkby said starting beforehand gives teachers a chance to get their routine down so when students return from Labor Day they are ready to go.

Marion decided to set the new date because it is a money saver for the district, which has faced a number of cuts.

"Other schools had done it so we thought, if that would save us a certain amount of money, that would be one thing, if it didn't hurt kids," Kirkby said.

Schools do have greater flexibility when it comes to scheduling classes. Instead of the required 180 school days per year, the state mandates 1,098 instructional hours. So, schools can potentially begin after Labor Day and end by Memorial Day if the length of the school day is increased.

Manton Schools Superintendent Lon Schneider said he does not support a longer school day because he believes those extra "15 minutes" would likely go to waste.

"Lengthening the school day doesn't do anything for kids. It's better to have more days than longer days," Schneider said.

Schneider doesn't buy the pitch that a state mandate would lead to a huge increase in tourism. For Manton, about one-third of its student body is already back, participating in athletics and extracurricular activities. Most families take their vacations in July, Schneider said, in anticipation of an early return for athletics.

"Local districts need to read what the pulse is in their community," Schneider said. "We don't have a lot of resorts in Manton - go to the state park (Lake Billings) and look how many people are in there right now. I went there last weekend and it was only half full."