School year changes inch forward in Legislature

02/22/2007

Support builds for starting class before Labor Day, but cost concerns could doom 180-day calendar


BY MEGAN BOLDT
Pioneer Press


Plans to add a week to Minnesota's public school year and allow classes to start before Labor Day moved through a key legislative committee Wednesday.

Of the two proposals, an extra week of school seems to face the toughest road — largely due to the cost.

The Senate Education Committee passed the bills on voice votes, but the measures have more stops before reaching the Senate floor.

School administrators and school boards support the bills. But the tourism industry opposes starting school before Labor Day, saying it cuts into family vacations and hurts its businesses.

Superintendents said a late Labor Day start forces them to stretch the school year into mid-June when staff and students get restless.

Their bottom line — leave it up to school boards.

"They understand the pulse and feel of the community," said Kirk Schneidawind, a lobbyist with the Minnesota School Boards Association.

But David Keller, owner of Brookeside Resort in Park Rapids and a former school board member, said he doesn't understand how it helps improve student achievement.

"None of these targeted educational outcomes has anything to do with the post-Labor Day start," he said.

Although repealing the after-Labor Day start is gaining steam this legislative session, the proposal to lengthen the school year will have a tough time garnering support.

The measure calls for every district to have a 180-day school calendar. Minnesota is the only state that has no minimum requirement for annual instructional time; the state education department estimates students are in class, on average, about 171 days each year.

Thirty-two states require students to be in class at least 180 days. Kansas requires the most with 186.

"We all know it's not the 1950s anymore," said the bill's author, Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina. "We have this competitive global economy. We don't want our kids just to beat Iowa anymore."

Tami Uselman, superintendent of Perham-Dent school district, agreed.

Uselman pointed out China has students in class for 230 days a year, while students in her district are in school 175 days. By the time Perham-Dent students finish 12th grade, their Chinese counterparts have a total of about four more years of education.

Uselman said her students aren't happy about the idea of being in school longer but it may be necessary if they are to be competitive globally.

"They need to be prepared for their future," she said.

This year's proposal is a scaled-down version of what the administrators' association pitched to lawmakers last year, when they sought to extend the school year to 200 days. That proposal went nowhere.

Even though this year's proposal has fewer days, it isn't cheap. The Minnesota Department of Education estimates each day added to the school calendar could cost the state between $31 million and $34.4 million.

And, it will have a challenge at its next stop in the Senate E-12 Education Budget Division. Its head, Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, said legislators need to "pay our bills first" by increasing aid for things like special education and early learning options.

"It's really a resource issue," Stumpf said. "We're in a crunch now."

The proposal is unlikely to go far in the House either.

Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville and chairwoman of the House K-12 Finance Division, said it's a good idea, but it's pricey.

Plus, she said, Democratic leaders want to increase funding for special education, early learning and general education first.

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BILLS AT A GLANCE

Earlier start

What it is: Allows schools to start before Labor Day.

What happened: Approved by a voice vote in the Senate Education Committee.

Next stop: Senate Economic Development Budget Division.

Longer year

What it is: Requires at least a 180-day school calendar for every school district in Minnesota. The state education department estimates students are in class about 171 days each year.

What happened: Approved by a voice vote in the Senate Education Committee

Next stop: Senate E-12 Education Budget Division.

The education department estimates Minnesota students are in class, on average, about 171 days each year. Thirty-two states require students to be in class at least 180 days.