Moms: Local School Districts Should Determine School Year

On January 27th Virginia State House Bill number 1433 died in subcommittee. The purpose of the bill, sponsored by Delegate Thomas A. Greason ( R)-House district 32, would have been to give local school boards the power to open schools before Labor Day. Since 1986, a Virginia law, known as “The Kings Dominion Law” because of the backing it receives from the Virginia Travel and Tourism industry, has kept Virginia schools from opening prior to Labor Day.

 Two more members of the McLean Moms Council weigh in on this question today.

McLean Patch Mom, Jennifer Bargerstock, has 2 high school children in FCPS (McLean HS):

Pro:  I believe that the local governments and school boards should be able to decide when the appropriate opening and ending dates should be for the local schools because they can more adequately address the needs of the local citizens and education communities that they serve. In Northern Virginia, opening schools before Labor Day and ending the school year earlier in June allows the school system to align it’s calendar with national colleges/universities to facilitate child care options for working families and make available more opportunities for extended learning.

 Although summer seems to be a sacred rite of passage, our lifestyle has changed significantly from our country’s and Commonwealth’s start which dictated the school year to follow an agricultural calendar. In June, 1963, the U.Ss Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, requiring equal pay for women performing the same job functions as a man. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act barred discrimination based on race and sex; opening the doors for Equal Opportunities for women not only in the workplace; but in education, credit, and all major areas.

This led to major social change in the U.S. and to more women entering the workforce. In 2009, in Fairfax County, 65 percent of two-parent families and 91.1 percent of single parent families with school age children reported all parents  in the work force. Since many child care programs and camps rely on college-age students for staffing in the summer months, the last weeks in August are typically difficult and expensive times for working parents to manage.

 Fairfax County Public Schools are world-renown for the educational excellence of it’s programs. Many advanced learners take advantage of the summer months to complete college level learning not available throughout the school year. Other high school students like to participate in programs for travel, whether educational in nature or an adventure experience. There are also many sports camps throughout the country that our local students like to participate in, whether competitive, recreational or in preparation or in hopes of playing collegiate levels. Job and intern opportunities are also aligned with the colleges throughout the country. There will be additional opportunities for our local students to expand their horizons in the summer months, with a school year that aligns with more collegiate programs.

 The State Legislature should listen to its taxpayers and allow local control to be able to facilitate the best possible lifestyle choices for each locality in the Commonwealth based on the local needs rather than the Commonwealth as a whole.