25 districts get OK to start school before Labor Day

Twenty-five school districts in southwestern Minnesota -- an unprecedented number -- have gotten the green light to start school before Labor Day.

The exemptions from a state law that prohibits pre-Labor Day starts were granted Friday by Education Commissioner Alice Seagren, in part so the districts could have more time to prepare students for state tests, in the spring.

The move also allows students who are taking college and tech-school courses to coordinate their schedules with local colleges. Cementing the deal for Seagren was the districts' effort to band together in a consortium to share services, teacher training, student information and a common school year calendar.

Asked whether she had ever approved a waiver to the law of this magnitude, Seagren replied: "Never."

The three-year exemption period begins in August and will last through the 2012-13 school year.

Perennial debate

Whether schools should be able to start before Labor Day has been a perennial tug-of-war at the State Capitol between educators and lobbyists for the Minnesota tourism industry.

Seagren said representatives from the tourism industry have expressed their concerns to her and to the districts that have gotten the exemptions.

Still, she said, the number of students affected -- about 16,000 -- is a small percentage of the 840,000 K-12 students statewide.

Seagren stressed that just because she approved the exemptions doesn't mean she will approve others.

"They have to meet the law and do a lot of things before they can assume I will approve these," she said.

It's not the first time districts have been exempted. The law allows districts to start before Labor Day if they have a school construction schedule that would benefit from an earlier start.

Among the districts granted the exemption are Worthington, Luverne, Redwood Area and Marshall. Many of them have only a few hundred students.

Starting dates for those districts will be Aug. 23 next year, Aug. 22 for the 2011-12 school year and Aug. 20 for 2012-13.

Worthington Superintendent John Landgaard said reaction to the new schedule is "mixed." "It's like anything; it's new," he said. "Some are going to be apprehensive, and some are excited about it. Some are going to be totally opposed to it. Once we get into it, and have a year under our belt, I hope parents will understand and approve of what we're doing."

In Redwood Falls, parent Anne Johnson said she's in favor of "anything that improves student achievement across the board." "We 're still going to have that Labor Day weekend the way we normally do," she said. She figured families would adjust to the schedule.

"I think there are some families that will take their vacations in the last week of May, around Memorial Day, just as they would have taken them the last week of August."

"I think the overall belief is that this is about improved academic learning for kids, and getting the opportunity of having seven or 10 days or more prior to state testing," he said.

The tradeoff in days for Worthington will come at the end of the school year. The 2010-11 school year is tentatively scheduled to end May 24. This year it will end June 4.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547