08/29/12: Laboring to keep a post-Labor Day start

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

IT HAS BEEN almost two weeks since my great-niece headed off to Virginia Commonwealth University for her freshman year. Classes started Thursday.

Norfolk State University started classes even earlier, on Aug. 18. Across town, Old Dominion University started Saturday. The University of Virginia started Tuesday. William and Mary starts today.

Across the commonwealth, public colleges and universities start classes in late August, much as its public schools used to do. That changed in 1986, with the so-called Kings Dominion law.

Public schools are required to start after Labor Day, unless a school division meets one of four “good cause” exceptions enumerated in Virginia code section 22.1-79.1.

Since 2008, legislators in the General Assembly have submitted at least 25 bills that would either eliminate the post-Labor Day start or expand the good-cause exceptions.

The 2012 session accounted for about half of these, with 12 such bills introduced. This was not a partisan issue: Legislation was offered by both Democrats and Republicans.

Educators, students and parents supported it. Gov. Bob McDonnell threw his weight behind it, noting in a January press conference that 77 of Virginia’s 132 school systems had already obtained pre-Labor Day opening waivers. “The exception,” McDonnell said, “has become the rule. When that happens, the rule should be modified.”

Despite the support, the change failed. Nine members of the 15-member Senate Education and Health Committee listened to lobbyists from tourism and business groups rather than all of the voices aligned in support.

Mind you, the change would not have mandated a pre-Labor Day start. Rather, it would have allowed the school boards in each locality to make the decision for themselves, the old “government closest to the people governs best” idea often attributed to Thomas Jefferson.

I’d like to think this is a loosening of Virginia’s adherence to the Dillon Rule. In truth, though, the presence of waivers for more than half of the localities is already proof of that. So why not let all localities make the decision?

Opponents argue that most of the 77 school districts granted the waiver are in rural areas where there is little tourism. But that’s not the only reason.

It seems some of the legislators don’t trust the school boards to make a wise decision. Virginia Beach Sen. Jeff McWaters, who voted against the bill, said so. “If given the option, I think school boards will make the decision that would hurt business, would hurt development and would hurt tourism in a time when we can least afford that,” he told Capital News Service.

Given that Virginia’s school boards lack taxing authority and must rely on state and local revenues for funding, that is just ludicrous. Why would a school board willingly choose to reduce its own resources?

Besides, the legislature hasn’t seen fit to impose a post-Labor Day start on its colleges and universities.

Wait. Perhaps I shouldn’t give them any ideas!