(The Center Square) – Many North Carolina lawmakers want to change how schools set their calendars amid a push from numerous school districts to start earlier, a move the tourism industry contends could crash revenues.
The House Education Committee on Tuesday reviewed local legislation to grant numerous exceptions to state law that requires school districts to start classes no later than the Monday closest to Aug. 26.
Two other bills have also been introduced to allow schools statewide to start earlier: a bipartisan House Bill 86 to push the start date back to Aug. 10, and a Democratic-backed House Bill 62 to eliminate the start date entirely. Taken together, the bills have dozens of co-sponsors.
The legislation comes after years of local education leaders from across the state calling for more flexibility to start school earlier, a move they contend would better align with college calendars and allow students to take final exams before the winter break. The change would benefit students who plan to graduate early or enroll in college classes during the spring semester.
Creating more flexibility is also something the North Carolina School Board Association has advocated for nearly two decades, while local school boards have recently passed resolutions in support, as well. Several school boards have blatantly violated the law to start earlier, creating controversy in some communities.
The change has faced strong opposition from Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, as well as the state’s tourism leaders, who argue an earlier start date would result in a massive hit to the state’s second-largest industry and the taxes it creates.
“Our position is that we are the second largest industry in North Carolina” behind agriculture, Brian Lewis, lobbyist for the North Carolina Travel Industry Association, told The Center Square. “We’re a $27 billion operation, and there are jobs that are created and taxes that are created.”
Lewis contends that summer tourism in June, July and August is “the foundation of our tourism industry … so to jeopardize that just befuddles us.”
Lewis pointed out that since North Carolina set current school calendar restrictions in 2004, the industry has grown from $14 billion annually to about $27 billion.
“We think that a lot of that is due to the fact we protect summer in North Carolina,” he said.
“We’re trying to help school systems get as much money as possible to fund their school systems and to do that we need to be open in June, July and August,” Lewis said.
In addition to stifling in-state tourism, starting school sooner cuts into the manpower available to the tourism industry, as well as other North Carolina businesses, such as summer camps. Dominique Morrison, owner of Honeysuckle Riding Academy in Monroe, sued the Union County school system for ignoring state law to start earlier, explaining how it would devastate her summer camp business.
The Union County Public Schools Board of Education later voted to reverse course, prompting the NCTIA to praise her efforts in its weekly newsletter.
“Dominique’s willingness to fight for her livelihood was critical in our success … and we hope other school districts disobeying the law learn a valuable lesson from this ordeal,” NCTIA Executive Director Vince Chelena said.
HB86 was vetted for information in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, and would head to the committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House, if approved.
HB62 was referred to the House Education Committee, while local bills for exceptions to the school calendar law are moving through the lower chamber.
