Later School Start Means Changes For Parents

Samuel King
WECT-TV
8/22/2005

Last year, state legislators pushed back the start of school until August 25th.

For some families, the later school start is a gift, meaning more time to spend together either at home or at the beach.

Some say it's a gift with some assembly required. "This year, we had to plan a little bit more. We did a vacation at the middle of the summer and we're taking a few days now here at the end," says Kathy Hoffmeier, of Durham.

Meanwhile Hoffmeier's daughter Katie, made extra money babysitting. "Yeah, definitely. Parents get tired of their kids at the end of the summer, so you definitely make more money," says Katie.

Beach businesses were among the groups pushing for the change.

So far for Wings, a beach clothing store in Wrightsville Beach, it's paid off. "We stayed open later this year than last year because of it. So business has been doing a little bit better. It's not as drastic as you might think maybe but you had to stay open late and put in much more hours," says Michael Barnes, an assistant manager.

Classes start Thursday at most schools across the state. But for some students, summer came to a screeching halt a few days early, as they had to come to New Hanover High School and other schools for orientation.

Brittany McGowan is one of the six hundred freshmen at NHHS finding their way around. She said she is sad to see the summer end. "I really enjoy going back to school but it's good to have time in the summer to do stuff," said McGowan.

It's too early to see the full impact of the change, but the extra time is a gift many families don't want to return.