Youths will get a longer summer

COLUMBIA - South Carolina's public schools would open around Labor Day in 2004 under a plan approved by the State Board of Education on Wednesday.

The board voted 9-8 for the measure after hearing from educators, parents and legislators.

Schools, many of which start in early August to give pupils more instruction time before standardized tests in the spring, won't have to call pupils back to class until the end of August or the first week in September under the plan.

The tourism industry, the state's biggest business, asked for a later start date to preserve the summer season.

House Education Chairman Ronny Townsend, who wants local school trustees to retain the right to set their own calendars, says the debate isn't over.

The Anderson Republican said the board misinterpreted the Legislature's instruction to work with a task force and study the issue, not implement a plan.

Mr. Townsend and Rep. Bob Walker, R-Landrum, say they expect legislators to file local bills to exempt their school districts from the uniform start date.

Education Board Vice Chairman Greg Killian of Myrtle Beach proposed that schools open no earlier than the Monday before Labor Day weekend and no later than the Wednesday after the holiday.

Mr. Killian said the board has moved the issue along, even though legislators have threatened to override Wednesday's action.

"I don't think of it as being in limbo," he said. "The Legislature will have to do something. If not, we have a start date."

The tourism industry says its revenues and the state's economy have been hurt since schools began opening in early August. A later start date means that restaurants, hotels and other tourism-related businesses may keep their young employees a little longer.

Greenville County Superintendent Bill Harner commended the board for its action. Mr. Harner said parents want their children to have enough time to learn the material on the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test but they think schools start too early.