[CSPS] labor day starts

[Jonathan Coopersmith]

That government is best that governs least ... not?


All schools could start after Labor Day under proposal




Some fear it would interrupt learning

By <mailto:aknezevich at statesman.com>Alison Knezevich
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/05/17SCHOOLDATES.html

It looks as if summers are about to get longer for students across Texas.

A proposal that appears likely to become law would require all public 
schools to start the Tuesday after Labor Day and end no later than June 7 
beginning with the 2006-2007 school year.

  Supporters of the later start date say it would save millions of tax 
dollars and help families spend more time together in the summers.

But some educators say the change lwould interfere with students' learning 
and local control of schools, as well as shorten breaks during the school year.

The new school dates are included in the House and Senate versions of the 
school finance reform legislation that has been passed. A House-Senate 
conference committee is working out the differences between the measures, 
but because the two already agree on the new school dates, they are 
expected to be in the final version.

Under current law, school districts can apply for waivers if they want to 
start before Aug. 21, said Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves 
Ratcliffe. There is no required end date, though schools are required to be 
in session 180 days a year.

Almost 600 of the state's 1,037 districts have asked for waivers to start 
the 2005-2006 school year before Aug. 21, she said. That includes the 
Austin school district, which asked to start on Aug. 16.

"That's the clearest evidence we have that school districts' preference is 
to start in mid-August," Graves Ratcliffe said.

The new start date proposal would not allow for early start waivers, but 
districts could extend the school year beyond June 7 in cases of natural 
disasters and other emergencies that result in missed days.

An Austin schools spokeswoman said the district doesn't comment on whether 
it supports pending legislation.

The district uses "a very intricate process" to plan each year's calendar, 
said Austin school district calendar committee co-chairwoman Terry 
Morganti-Fisher, who also is the district's director of professional 
development.

The committee, made up of parents, principals and others, bases the start 
date and vacation days on factors such as religious holidays and when 
standardized testing is scheduled, she said. The school board has final say 
over the calendar.

Under the new law, school districts would still decide how to configure 
their holiday breaks and other vacation days, Graves Ratcliffe said.

But some people said the late start would automatically interfere with the 
way districts have always scheduled breaks. Louis Malfaro, president of the 
teachers union Education Austin, said starting school after Labor Day would 
move final exams for the first semester to after the winter break and could 
cut into professional days for teachers.

"Those days are going to be sacrificed for instructional days if you have 
to cram more teaching into a shorter period of time," he said.

Graves Ratcliffe said the issue of administering final exams after winter 
break would be one of the biggest challenges for the calendar committee if 
the law passes.

"That's a key issue because if you do that, then it's going to make your 
semesters lopsided," she said, adding that the usual 10-day winter break 
would likely be shortened.

She also cited concerns that a later start date would interfere with 
standardized testing days.

But supporters of a late start said the delay would come with major 
economic benefits.

Last September, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn released a report 
saying $790 million could be saved annually if schools started later.

That figure was based on projections of savings from utility costs during 
the hot summer, child care for workers and lost income for students and 
teachers who work during the summers.

The report also cited losses at Texas tourist destinations, such as the 
Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels and the Alamo in San Antonio, 
because of a shortened summer season.

The tourism industry has long been a supporter of later academic year start 
dates, said Paul Serff, president of the Texas Travel Industry Association.

He said the later start would help tourist businesses and seasonal 
employees who could make more money if they could work through Labor Day.

Malfaro said it wasn't right to base educational decisions on business 
interests.

"I'm not so interested in making sure that there is a big supply of cheap 
labor out there for (amusement parks)," he said. "I don't think that should 
be driving our decisions."

Tina Bruno, executive director of the San Antonio-based Texans for a 
Traditional School Year, said the money saved on starting later would help 
schools focus on more important matters.

"It will put more money into our classrooms, where our tax dollars belong," 
she said.

Bruno also said the long summer "would give people more opportunity to 
spend a quality block of time with (their) children" and simplify the task 
of finding child care during holiday breaks.

Becker Elementary PTA President Mary Diaz, whose granddaughter attends the 
school, said she would love a longer summer even if it meant shorter 
holidays breaks.

"Your summer's your vacation time," she said. "You can do everything that 
you haven't been able to do before."


Jonathan Coopersmith
Associate Professor
Dept. of History
MS 4236
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas  77843
979.845.8584
979.862.4314 fax

Secretary
History & Philosophy of Science Section (L)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
aaas.org 
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