Sponsor of Kentucky school calendar bill seeks compromise

The sponsor of legislation that would prevent Kentucky schools from opening until late August asked Thursday that a committee vote be postponed until he could work out a compromise.

“I’m working with people on both sides of the issue to find a true compromise, a solution that’s going to move the needle in the direction I’m looking to go,” state Sen. Chris Girdler, R-Somerset said.

He told lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee: “I believe there’s possibly a compromise out there that would garner more support for Senate Bill 50.”

The bill proposes to set the opening date for schools no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. Many Kentucky districts return to school in early August so that school might end by Memorial Day.

The Senate Education Committee heard testimony on both sides of the issue for SB 50 but no vote was taken after Girdler asked for the postponement. He said he hoped to take the bill before the committee again next Thursday.

“Give our kids and their families their summers back,” Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R- Georgetown, said in support of the bill. “I feel passionately about this.”

Kentucky travel industry officials released a study earlier this month that contends the early return to school each year is costing the state $432 million and at least 6,000 jobs.

“A remedy is needed,” Kentucky Travel Industry Association president and CEO Hank Phillips told lawmakers. He said the measure would not harm education.

“We understand how important education is,” Phillips said.

Girdler said several states including Michigan and Washington start school after Labor Day without hurting student achievement.

Phillips has said that research in other states has determined there is no correlation between later school start dates and student performance. He said that while local decision making about schools is usually preferable, there are times when legislative action is needed.

But Mike Armstrong, executive director of the Kentucky School Boards Association, said that local school boards working with their communities should determine when their district starts school each year and other aspects of the school calendar. Armstrong said school board members take into account the concerns of the business community and families in building the annual calendar. He said in counties where tourism is an issue, school boards could find a compromise.

Sarah Wasson, pupil personnel director for Powell County Schools, testified that her Eastern Kentucky district could have to make up at least 20 days each school year because of winter weather. She said under the legislation, her district might be in school long through June.

She said it might be beneficial for tourism officials to purchase snow plows for her district if they could find one that could “go up mountains and not fall off.”

“Until that time we can’t go to school when the snow comes,” she said. “It’s a choice we make for the safety of our children.”

Girdler said some districts waste instructional time during the school year and have breaks in the calendar that aren’t needed.

Girdler reiterated that it’s possible to start school the week before Labor Day, meet Kentucky’s minimum required days of school and end the school year by Memorial Day.

Senate Education Committee chairman Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, told Girdler he could work on a compromise and bring the bill back to the committee.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Sponsor of Kentucky school calendar bill seeks compromise."