May04GovtReport

The amusement industry has long maintained that the adoption of year-round and extended-year school calendars could be quite damaging for the industry. As students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade attended classes throughout the summer, there would be less time for family vacations to America’s 600-plus amusement parks and attractions. Because park attendance will likely remain the most important issue for amusement park owners and managers with respect to the year-round school calendar, an extended school year proposal under consideration by the United States Senate might also significantly disrupt a majority of the industry’s workforce.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) chaired a March 9 hearing by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that examined the advantages and impediments to a year-round college calendar.

Though his opening statement acknowledged that “summer break for work, reflection, and fun has been as much a part of the college and university tradition as the cap and gown at graduation,” he quickly offset that opinion by saying, “colleges are changing their traditional schedules because their customers are not traditional.” Senator Alexander concluded his opening statement by indicating that he is considering the creation of a commission that would study the impact of a year-round college calendar, and then recommend to what extent and how the federal government could encourage such a calendar.

The most vocal proponent of the year-round college calendar at the hearing was George Washington University president Steven Joel Trachtenberg. In his testimony to the committee, Trachtenberg said the traditional academic college calendar “was created to suit an agrarian world.” He continued, “It fit the world of 1780, when tending crops and looking after livestock were more important than learning to read.” He called use of today’s college facilities inefficient, likening institutions of higher learning to corporate America and musing aloud, “Is there a business in America that would close facilities for six months while building new ones alongside them that would also run half a year? I don’t think so.”

Interestingly enough, such an industry does indeed exist—it’s the amusement industry. Our industry is reliant on a large number of college students as seasonal employees at their facilities.

In a November 2000 Amusement Business survey of seasonal amusement industry employees, 55 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as college students.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the number of employed youth between the ages of 16 and 24 increased by 2.1 million from April 2003 to July 2003, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment. Almost 500,000 seasonal ride operators, game attendants, performers, and managers benefit from their work experience in amusement parks across the United States. Summer employment teaches them responsibility, interpersonal relations, and a positive work ethic.
The importance of seasonal employment was evident in the testimony of India McKinney, a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

“Creating the opportunity to take classes in the summer would be beneficial to many students, as long as summer classes remain a choice and not an obligation,” McKinney testified. As she recounted her tumultuous path to college from an underprivileged home, McKinney reiterated the importance of maintaining the traditional college calendar. “I believe that the space created in the summer is invaluable,” McKinney said. “Forcing students to take classes during the summer might deny those students the opportunity to get summer jobs, internships, or undergraduate research grants which would hurt the collegiate system in the long run. I think that college is about personal exploration as much as it is about learning solid facts.”

Past IAAPA personnel surveys of member facilities indicate that 80 percent of respondents reported that an extended school year affected their ability to find seasonal employees. Most of these surveys were conducted at a time when the debate concerning year-round schools was focused on kindergarten through twelfth grade. Now the debate surrounding year-round school calendars has been extended to include American colleges and universities. In his testimony, Trachtenberg argued that “GW could increase our enrollment by at least a thousand students, yet have fewer students on campus at any one time. Think of the advantages. Less competition for housing or classes. More income for the university.”

IAAPA Government Relations will keep you informed of the latest developments on this issue.