WORTHINGTON -- School will begin in August in 2009 for District 518 students, according to a new school calendar -- but only if Minnesota legislators repeal the Labor Day start law decreeing school cannot begin before the holiday.
The District 518 calendars for 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, approved by the District 518 Board of Education's instructional committee this week, still need to be approved by the board as a whole before they go into effect.
Although the 2008-2009 school calendar has school beginning Tuesday, Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day, the 2009-2010 school year lists a school start date of Monday, Aug. 31.
The reason for the change is because Labor Day is a fluctuating federal holiday not affixed to a particular date. Instead, it is the first Monday of September, and in 2009, that first Monday doesn't occur until Sept. 7.
Under the current Minnesota law, school would not be able to begin until Sept. 8, leaving districts short a week of school days. If school doesn't start the week before Labor Day, districts would have to make up the days by trimming holidays or extending the school year further into June.
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"Why is the state dictating when we start anyway?" asked District 518's superintendent, John Landgaard. "It's a law that, in my view, doesn't allow for any local decision-making to occur."
Some legislators agree. Currently, bills to repeal the post-Labor Day start are sitting at the committee level in the Minnesota House and the Minnesota Senate.
Whether they advance beyond committees or not will determine whether District 518 will need to revise its calendar for 2009-2010.
Sen. Jim Vickerman (D-Tracy) believes school boards should set their own start dates and hopes the state will relinquish control.
"The school board ought to have something to say," Vickerman said. "They know more, and are better equipped to answer something like that than legislators."
Rep. Doug Magnus (R-Slayton) agreed.
"I think that we should let the schools make their own mind up," Magnus said.
The post-Labor Day start issue has come up several times already in previous years, Magnus said, adding it is often opposed by 4-H and other organizations that send kids to the Minnesota State Fair, as well as resort owners.
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Some parents may also oppose the change, preferring to keep the stretch before Labor Day open for family time and vacations.
"If we start too early, our local community is going to tell us that," Landgaard said. "Right now, if we were to start the last week in August, it would free up the calendar and potentially even create some energy savings."
Energy savings would be possible because in August, the school would not have to be heated, but if some of the school days were trimmed from Christmas vacation, the school would need to be heated and lit.
The extra room in the calendar would enable the school to have a longer winter break or even a spring break, which would allow parents to take a vacation without pulling kids out of school.
Many sports, including cross-country, football, volleyball and girls' tennis, already start in mid-August.
Landgaard has not heard any positive or negative feedback from parents as yet.
"Typically, about mid-August, parents will say it's time to go back to school," Landgaard said. "They've done a lot of fun things and have trouble keeping (kids) occupied."
