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Mandated later school start dates opposed

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@thecitizennews.com

Both Fayette County Superintendent John DeCotis and State School Superintendent Kathy Cox say they are opposed to an effort to mandate a later start date for Georgia schools.

Urged by parent groups, momentum is building among some state lawmakers to consider legislation that would encourage school districts statewide to abide by a “universal start date” in late August.

A rally in support of the proposal at the state Capitol last week drew several supporters, who say delaying the start of school to nearer the Labor Day weekend would restore summer vacation time to families and impact the state’s tourism industry by more than $2 billion annually.

Many of metro Atlanta’s biggest attractions, like Six Flags and Whitewater, have to end their seasons early because teen employees go back to school so soon, critics say.

Two north Atlanta lawmakers, Reps. Mark Burkhalter of Alpharetta and Joe Wilkinson of Sandy Springs, have said they are willing to sponsor a bill that would allow school systems more flexibility in arranging school-year calendars.

DeCotis explained that the start date has been pushed back in recent years as Georgia schools fully embraced a semester system, which divides the year into two halves.

Most districts, including Fayette County, design their calendars so that fall semester final exams coincide with the lengthy holiday break in late December.

The spring semester begins when students return in January.

Students are still required to go a full 180 days, DeCotis said, but the semesters don’t have to be 90 days each. For example, Fayette County’s school calendar this year has slightly more days in the spring semester.

The earlier start date has also meant that the school year ends earlier than in the past. More recently, Fayette County students have gotten out for summer in May on the Friday before Memorial Day. The final day of classes next spring will be May 27, 2005.

DeCotis said the earlier end date actually benefits students and teachers as well, since most colleges in Georgia are also on the semester system and begin summer classes in late May or early June.

“A lot of our teachers take continuing education, degree work and college courses in the summer,” DeCotis said.

What works for one school system doesn’t necessarily work for the others, both DeCotis and Cox said.

“Circumstances in all our districts aren’t the same,” DeCotis said. “For example, I know some districts have to change their calendars from one year to the next to accommodate construction projects.”

In a statement released by her office, Cox said she is opposed to the “one size fits all” approach.

“We must resist the temptation to mandate generic solutions for the unique challenges faced by our state’s individual school systems,” said Cox. “Forcing all of Georgia’s public schools to begin on the same date each year would not only undermine the principles of local control, it would hurt the very children who are now being helped by new programs made possible through individualized school year calendars.”

The Fayette County Board of Education considered a school calendar for the 2005-06 term that would have added a full week of vacation in October and pushed back the end of the school year to June, but that was shot down with a compromise.

Next summer, Fayette students will return to class one day earlier than this year: Aug. 8, 2005.

They’ll have a “mini-break” the weekend of Oct. 21-24, and a full week off at Thanksgiving before ending the fall semester Wednesday, Dec. 21.

The spring semester commences Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006. A week-long winter break introduced last year returns the week of Feb. 20-24, followed by a full week of spring break the first week in April.

The 2006 school year will end with graduation ceremonies Friday, May 26.