In August 2016 Governor Larry Hogan signed an Executive Order declaring that the Marlynad public-school year start after the Labor Day holiday weekend. The order itself concluded a bipartisan initiative between Governor Hogan, Comptroller Peter Franchot, and allies across the state. Numerous polls around the State have continuously shown that more than 70% of Marylanders support schools starting after Labor Day.
 

In the first two years since the Executive Order, tourism has increased generating more revenue for the State including funding for education. Specifically in Garrett County, we have seen:
 

• A 24.2 % increase in accommodations tax collections for August 2018 over August 2017
 

• An 11% increase in accommodations tax collections, a 53% increase in heads on beds and an 8.3% increase in sales tax collections for August 2017 over August 2016

 

These increases are directly linked to starting schools after Labor Day. In Maryland, the $2.4 billion in tax revenue generated by visitor spending saves every Maryland Household $1,100, and every 252 visits generates enough state and local tax revenue to fund a public-school student for one year.
 

Opponents argue that the Executive Order limits the autonomy of local Boards of Education. However, the Boards of Education still set their own school calendars.  Reducing these revenues to the State would have far greater negative impacts than a minor adjustment to the school calendar.
 

Additionally, there is no evidence that starting school after Labor Day and ending by June 15 has hindered the education of students in Maryland. The same amount of instructional days are still required and the summer was not actually extended. Simply put, instructional days were shifted from August (a very warm month) to June.
 

In Worcester County where school has been starting after Labor Day since before the Executive Order, statewide PARCC testing for the 2016-17 school year showed that Worcester County schools surpassed all other counties in five assessments. Also, a report produced by Virginia Commonwealth University regarding Virginia’s post Labor Day school start concluded that there is no correlation between starting the school year before Labor Day and student scores on the Standards of Learning tests.

However, Maryland Legislators want to repeal the Executive Order yet have no legitimate rationale for doing so. They have sponsored legislation (SB 128, SB 131, HB 53 and HB 437) that guts the Executive Order and would be a return to schools starting as early as the first week of August.  In fact, the Chair of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee supports year-round school. 

But why does this matter to Garrett County? Well, as you are likely aware, tourism is a major component of Garrett County’s economy. The money that funnels into the county through the tourism industry supplies jobs and new opportunities for entrepreneurs, helps fund infrastructure and our public schools without raising taxes on locals, and increases our overall quality of life. Even if your business isn’t directly related to tourism you enjoy the benefits of a strong local economy. 

The Executive Order mandating a post Labor Day school start has had a positive impact on the whole state but especially our mountainous vacation destination as illustrated above. It is massively popular among Marylanders, has had no negative impact on students and allowed them more time to spend with their families, and has acted as an economic boon. 
 

The Legislature generally values the results provided by polling but in this case they are ignoring what the majority of Marylanders support. We must keep reminding the legislators that starting school after Labor Day is good for Maryland and the Governor’s Executive Order should stand.