WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIAL

Money issue may mean later school start

The issue of a school starting date is back on the legislative front-burner. And this time, things may be different.

When the State Board of Education voted in November 2002 to delay the start of public school until later in August, the citizens on the panel made the case they were responding to parents' wishes.

The state's education establishment argued differently, saying the later start date would endanger instruction for the state-mandated Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test in the spring and result in students taking exams after the winter break. Lawmakers agreed, with the General Assembly doing an end-around and undoing the board's decision.

Their reasoning sounded good: Leave control of school start dates in the hands of local boards. As hard as it is to argue with government closer to home being better government, reality is that local boards are not in control on this matter. School is starting earlier and earlier each summer through a systematic change engineered from the education establishment in Columbia.

While a later uniform start date for the state may not be politically achievable, there is indication lawmakers in coastal counties will again make a hard push for a change that would delay school opening to Aug. 25. This past August, school opened locally and in many locations around the state during the first week of August.

Lawmakers may increasingly be willing to take a look the cost, not only of operating schools year-round but in terms of loss tourism dollars that boost state revenues. With school not ending until Memorial Day, the current setup leaves families just two months for a vacation period. That means tourism locations once getting a three-month window between Memorial Day and Labor Day in which to enjoy the summer boom have seen prime time reduced by a full month.

There's also the issue of summer jobs for students. As important as student labor is for young people making money and tourist-related enterprises getting extra help during the peak season, business in general benefits when students are able to hold summer jobs. And why is it seemingly forgotten in the debate that students receiving training in the work world is an important part of their education?

So, too, are the wishes of parents being ignored. In a 2003 survey conducted for the tourism industry, nearly half of parents wanted a school start day near Labor Day. Despite claims of bias in the study, the results are closer to accurate than foes want to admit.

Longer years, longer days and such don't guarantee better instruction. A later start to school does not have to mean fewer instruction days before spring. Fewer teacher work days and intra-year days off for students will have to be the price for a longer summer break.

Lawmakers even have it within their authority to alter the mandate for days of instruction each school year.

Families have so little time for traditional togetherness. Shrinking vacation periods and lengthening the school year do not mean improved education any more than a seven-hour-plus school day.

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