Brain Death Rattle - Tell the Local Schools Not to Open too Early

BrooklynDodger is having a hard time with opportunism.

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STARTING SCHOOL AFTER LABOR DAY:

More time to have fun Law giving kids extra week of summer break is victory for tourism industry September 30, 2005
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF

For almost 20 years, the crusade by tourism interests to make all Michigan schools open after Labor Day was the political engine that could, chugging and getting nowhere against powerful opposition from teachers unions and local school boards.

The campaign finally chugged over the hill Thursday. Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill to require all public schools in the state to start after Labor Day.It was a victory for tourism, a defeat for school lobbyists and apparently good news for many parents. Polls show that a majority of voters prefer an extra week of summer vacation in August with their kids.


Still, more than half of Michigan school districts start classes before then, according to the Michigan Association of School Boards.Yencich said -- and others involved in the debate confirmed -- that two factors swayed lawmakers and Granholm to start school after Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer....Second, two years ago, the state changed a law that required schools to offer at least 180 days of instruction. Instead, schools must offer at least 1,098 hours of instruction. It's up to school boards to decide how many days that takes....

Margaret Trimer-Hartley, spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Association, said the union opposes the change because it promotes "a lousy culture of education" that makes tourism more important than schools. ..."It's a no-brainer for the state," he said.

The bill passed the House and Senate with largely Republican support.