Gov. Ted Strickland's recent proposal to add four weeks to the school year has some travel industry representatives worried.
The proposal, adding 20 school days to the academic calendar over a 10-year period, is outlined in the governor's Ohio State of the State address from Jan. 28. Strickland will submit the proposal to the General Assembly in the coming days.
Robin Innes, public relations director for Cedar Point amusement park, said he thinks the change will be detrimental to the tourism industry.
When asked if he thinks the proposal will hurt business at the park, he said, Absolutely. Our summer is already a very short operating season. Taking away 20 days will certainly harm us.
This change will cut into the period of time available for park employees to work. Innes said that about half of the 4,000 to 5,000 park employees are college students.
Amanda Wurst, press secretary for Gov. Strickland, said that the proposal allows for flexibility in how the change is implemented. School districts can decide where to add the days in, so if districts decide to add the days at times other than summer, tourism should not be affected.
Paige Alost, head of the Athens County Visitor's Bureau, said that tourism in most areas of Ohio, including Athens, comes primarily from families living in the state.
These families with children in Ohio's schools can generate lots of revenue for areas in southeastern Ohio. Last year
Athens County made $118 million. When you begin to take away the amount of time that people have to
travel in the summer there's sure to be a decrease she said.
She added that even basic things, like the time that families have available to visit the OU campus, will be affected. She said that summer is normally a very busy time for the admissions office.
Wurst said that the proposal will expand instructional opportunities for Ohio students
and make them more competitive nationally and internationally by making them more on par with the 200-day national average of school days per year.
Alost said she sees clear educational benefits from the proposal, but is not sure that Athens can weather the results of this change, especially in the present economy.
I think that a longer school day has distinct possibilities. We need better school days
not longer school years
she said.
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Rue Khalsa
