A bill being debated in the Ohio House of Representatives would prohibit most public schools from starting the school year before Labor Day or holding classes after Memorial Day.

But while shrinking the calendar window, House Bill 191 also would increase the “length” of the school year by requiring a higher minimum number of hours of instruction, rather than a set number of days.

Ohio Rep. Bill Hayes, R-Licking County, one of the sponsors of the bill, acknowledged that the calendar shift would create a longer summer break and boost tourism, which is Ohio’s third largest industry.

“It’s an economic engine that creates jobs and generates revenue for the state,” he said.

Among those who spoke in favor of the bill before the House Education Committee on June 15 were representatives of the Boating Associations of Ohio, the Ohio Campground Owners Association and other tourism groups.

Ohio Rep. Jim Butler, R-Oakwood, said the education committee hasn’t heard opponent testimony on the bill yet, but he expressed several concerns.

“The people who want to start the school year earlier seem to have valid points, and I want what’s best for students and makes Ohio more competitive,” Butler said. “We should never put tourism in front of children’s education.”

Tom Ash, director of governmental relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, said his group favors the hours portion of the bill but not the Labor Day/Memorial Day aspect.

“(The latter) detracts from local control,” Ash said. “Some districts want more instructional time before tests, while some have to account for things like county fairs. One size does not fit all.”

Hours requirement

Currently, Ohio schools must provide 182 days of “instruction” (which includes in-service, conference and calamity days), and the school day must include at least five hours for grades 1-6, and 5 1/2 hours for grades 7-12.

Those requirements add up to 910 hours for elementary students and 1,001 hours for secondary students. HB 191 would mandate 50 more hours — at least 960 for grades 1-6 and 1,050 for grades 7-12.

Hayes said by using hours as the standard, it could eliminate the need for calamity days and allow schools to recoup time lost to delays and dismissals through the ability to extend the hours of the school day.

But Butler said he’s hearing that most school districts already exceed the increased hour requirement.

Rebecca Templeton-Owens, president of Kettering’s teachers union, agreed that seemed to be the case in Kettering, and she said the bill could conflict with existing contract language.

The three-year deal that Kettering teachers just signed calls for a 7½-hour workday, including lunch, as well as a 180-day year, measures that could be in conflict with HB 191 if it passes.

Schools also could face decisions about having to shorten Christmas break or eliminate a spring break in order to fit the required number of hours into a smaller window.

David Romick, president of the Dayton Education Association, said the bill would shave about two to three weeks off the school year, which provides no benefit to students.

“I think it’s better for them to have a longer school year,” he said.

Romick said increasing the minimum number of hours of instruction will not affect Dayton students because they already receive more instruction than mandated.

“At the 7-12 grade level, (the bill’s) requirement would be 200 hours per year less than what we are currently teaching students,” he said

Longer summers

Just a year ago, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was trying to add 20 days to the school calendar, saying it would bring the state more in line with other nations’ programs. But funding was a question.

Hayes said by having fewer days of school, but with longer hours, school districts would benefit financially in transportation, heating and cooling costs, and labor.

Some school districts have buildings and buses that are not air conditioned, creating heat problems in August and June.

Templeton-Owens said she understands that issue, as Kettering schools are air-conditioned and start in August, while her children’s Valley View schools are not air-conditioned and start in September. But she said that issue makes the case against a single statewide policy.

“Local districts have a history of discussing what’s best for their communities, and this would take that ability away,” she said.

Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, said the bill was designed with the sole purpose of promoting tourism, which does not justify meddling with the school year.

“It’s not about giving kids more education, more value, more nothing — it’s just about tourism,” he said.

Luckie said he opposes the measure because families in his district are suffering and do not have additional money to pump into the state’s tourism industry through trips and weekend getaways.

Also, he said, longer summers could burden families because they would need to keep their children in day care or summer programs longer. Extracurricular activities could also suffer as schools try to squeeze more instruction into the school day, he said.

Jack Jennings, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy, said research indicates that during the summer students forget much of what the learned the previous school year.

“To me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, because the whole thinking now is that the school year ought to be extended instead of shortened,” Jennings said. “This seems to me a real step backwards.”

Amy Stamper, who has two children in year-round Harold Schnell Elementary in West Carrollton, agrees with that assessment.

“I went to school here a long time ago, and I loved it,” she said. “It’s nine weeks of work and three weeks off. It’s a nice little break; it’s a stable schedule.”

Reporters Cornelius Frolik and April Price contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@DaytonDaily News.com.