School start on legislators' agenda

Lawmakers prefile bills for consideration next session

By Zane Wilson

The Myrtle Beach Sun News 12-10-04

A later school starting date and a bill to ban casino boats are among 225 early bills legislators logged Wednesday to consider next session.

Bills prefiled in the next few weeks get priority and early assignment to a committee.

The school start date is part of a renewed effort to restore some of the traditional vacation season that includes a statewide campaign to involve parents.

Proponents of requiring schools to start later were emboldened by North Carolina's passage of a similar law earlier this year.

State Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, is sponsoring the bill along with Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island.

The bill would require schools to start no earlier than Aug. 25. Most in the state now start earlier than that, some in the first week of August. Horry County schools start later than those in most other districts.

The gradual move to earlier school starting dates in recent years cut off the third traditional summer vacation month for families.

School districts began starting earlier to have more time to prepare for crucial performance measurement tests given statewide in the spring.

A locally driven effort for later school openings two years ago resulted in a divisive, bitter battle that raged in both the House and Senate for the entire session.

The result was a commitment from Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum to hold the performance tests later, which should encourage the schools to start later.

Tourism leaders say that is not enough, especially now that neighbor and competitor North Carolina has ordered its schools to return to the traditional near-Labor Day openings.

The new initiative includes a campaign to get parents involved, said John McMillan, president of the Council of Myrtle Beach Organizations.

The program includes a Web site, www.savescsummers.com, where parents can sign petitions to legislators asking for a law that will make schools start later.

"We're trying to get parents involved in this thing statewide," McMillan said. "We found out from the North Carolina experience that you have to get parents involved in this thing."

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said the law is one of the organization's top five priorities.

A survey earlier this year by Coastal Carolina University, which was paid for by the S.C. Travel and Tourism Coalition, showed that 80 percent of 898 parents surveyed supported the move.

The chamber says legislators will respond if parents push them.

"It's good legislation for education and for families," Dean said. "If it's done just for tourism, it won't pass."

Opponents of a state law requiring schools to start later say school schedules are a local matter.

The chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee fought the bills in the past and said recently he has not changed his mind.

The casino boat bill is sponsored by Rep. Herb Kirsh, D-Clover, who sponsored it in previous years.

The House has passed the ban several times by wide margins, but it has always failed in the Senate. The federal law, known as the Johnson Act, permits gambling cruises to nowhere but also allows states to ban them.

Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, opposes a ban on the boats because he says it would also affect the major cruise lines that dock in the city.

"If Glenn McConnell is opposed to it, it ain't going to pass," Kirsh said.

Senators and representatives were allowed to prefile bills Wednesday. They filed 225 bills, more than usually pass in one session.

They can file bills again Dec. 15, and House members also have Dec. 22 for filing.