Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Don't start school before LABOR DAY

We did not start school until AFTER Labor Day. We held out, because we were elsewhere, with a job, on travels, and not willing to come back for two days of school.

We love school. We don't love it before Labor Day in our family.

The "No Child Left Behind" slogan has a different meaning with us. We won't leave our children behind. We take em with us when we go.
INSIDE THE CAPITOL

Early start costs state

Starting school before Labor Day costs the state's economy $387 million, according to a report released last week by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. That was music to the ears of Rep. Robert Godshall, R-Montgomery, who has legislation pending to prohibit districts from starting school before the September holiday.

'The study confirms what has been my contention all along, that starting the school year before Labor Day harms the state's economy, especially the tourism industry, and has a negative effect on jobs,' he said.

Photo shows my child, Grant, leaving us behind. Grant was in an open-water swim race on the first day of school this year, Thursday before Labor Day. We were in Canada, where we should have been. (Click image for a larger view.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

rest of article:

The report by Tripp Umbach of Pittsburgh showed the economic costs came from lost revenue at tourist attractions, teachers and students' inability to work summer jobs the last week of August, lost tax revenue and the cost of child care on vacation days during the school year.

A Mansfield University study found 64 percent of those who had an opinion on the issue supported Godshall's position that post-Labor Day starts are better. Education groups oppose the idea because of the amount of learning that needs to occur to prepare students for state tests.

Compiled by our Capitol Bureau