Starting School Late Could
Be a Good Idea
Maggie Blackert, editor, Waterpark Report

After years of watching the summer park season shrink as a result of schools starting earlier and earlier, the winds of change may be blowing in the Midwest.

A small group of Oklahoma mothers, led by Time to Learn Executive Director Tina Bruno, made enough noise that school districts pushed back their school start dates without legislative mandate. Their work not only proves the power of the people, but also provides good ammunition to present as school calendars are debated for the next school year.

Waterpark owners and operators don’t need the Old Farmer's Almanac to know that the hottest time of the year is mid-June through Labor Day. The man-made beaches that adorn facilities across the nation are traditionally packed at this time. But the seasons are being cut short in many states, where many school districts have set a calendar that starts in early August and ends in mid-May. And when the first school bell rings, it’s the signal for most waterparks to wind down to a weekend-only schedule.

Several studies have shown that a school start date has no impact on how children perform academically. And leading economists and fiscal watchdogs warn that some schools’ early schedules are costing schools millions of dollars in increased cooling costs and lost taxable revenue. According to Bruno, getting involved in developing the school calendar in your city is worthwhile. It can help you to reclaim those critical last weeks of summer, and it will help your school system to save precious dollars.

“Across the nation, schools are in financial turmoil, with some contemplating teacher layoffs. The dollars we have available for education are so limited that we need to make sure we use them wisely,” says Bruno, whose coalition of parents, students, teachers, and businesses advocates for a traditional school calendar. She points to the victory realized in Tulsa, Okla. Faced with a budget shortfall, the school board decided to push back the planned August 19 school start date and started the 2002-03 school year after Labor Day. Initially, Tulsa school officials predicted this simple move would save the district $200,000. Today, they report it has saved between $300,000 and $400,000.

Coupled with an impressive energy savings program, Oklahoma’s largest school system saved $1.8 million in utility and related energy costs through April of the 2002-03 school year, compared to the same time period of the 2001-02 school year, when classes started in mid-August. That’s enough money to purchase 18,000 computers, or to hire 36 veteran teachers at an annual salary of $50,000.

Starting in the 1990s, an increasing number of districts adopted calendars that moved forward from the traditional post-Labor Day start, with some starting classes as early as the first week of August. In many states, the move was prompted by standardized testing because school officials believed that a jump start on the school year would give students and teachers more time to prepare for the high-stakes exams. But with research showing that the shape of a school calendar has no impact on academics, and with families bemoaning the loss of traditional summer vacation time, legislators in some states passed laws mandating that the first day of class start later in the month.

As many school bells rang in early August this year, Tulsa stuck with the program that helped them dedicate more money to academic instruction. The school year there began September 2, giving the state of Oklahoma ample time to get past the 100-plus degree days it experienced this summer. “That’s really the way it ought to be,” says Bob LaBass, executive director of bond projects and energy management for Tulsa Public Schools. “You’re in school from Labor Day to Memorial Day.”

If you are interested in getting involved, call Time to Learn at 210/559-5277.