OCEAN CITY — Weeks after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced an executive order mandating a post-Labor Day start to the public school year, resort tourism officials are wary a pushback is likely coming from across the state.
In late August, Hogan surprised many when he signed an executive order requiring all public schools in Maryland to start classes after Labor Day beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Citing the benefits of a post-Labor Day start to the school year for students and their families eking out the remaining days of late August, and perhaps more importantly the economies in areas that would benefit from longer vacation times, Hogan made the announcement on the Boardwalk in Ocean City surrounded by state and local government officials and other long-time advocates of the initiative.
Obviously, the post-Labor Day school start is a statewide mandate, but for many it has the appearance of being a uniquely Ocean City issue because the resort perhaps stands to gain the most from the change.
From the beginning, Ocean City has been at the forefront of the issue, beginning several years ago when Comptroller Peter Franchot announced his “Let Summer Be Summer” initiative and launched his petition drive from practically the same spot on the Boardwalk, but resort tourism officials believe the message has to apply to all areas of the state.
Almost immediately after Hogan’s announcement, educators across Maryland decried the mandate and called into question the validity of the executive order. Critics have claimed a later school start, although the required 180 days will be preserved, would cut down on valuable teaching time. Perhaps more importantly, some school jurisdictions have claimed the governor’s mandate undermines the autonomy of the various school districts and ties the hands of superintendents to make decisions on what they believe is best for their schools. Resort officials this week worried some of that angst could be directed at Ocean City, which has been front and center in the debate from the beginning.
“I’m really surprised at the criticism,” said Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce President-Elect John Gehrig. “It’s been very negative. He obviously shouldn’t have made the announcement on the Boardwalk.”
Councilmember and Tourism Committee chair Mary Knight agreed the governor could have chosen a less obvious location for his announcement.
“This is a statewide issue and I was also amazed he made the announcement on the Boardwalk,” he said. “He probably should have made the announcement at the State Fair.”
While Hogan’s order applies statewide, there is a loophole built into the mandate. The executive order does allow school districts to apply for a waiver if compelling reasons are justified. Gehrig predicted more than a few jurisdictions around the state would likely apply for the waiver.
“We have to get a better understanding of the waiver process,” he said. “I think we’re going to see some jurisdictions apply for the waiver to start before Labor Day. Something tells me we only won the first quarter of this game.”
Tourism Committee member Todd Ferrante suggested the lost autonomy, and not lost classroom time, is fueling the opposition.
“I think they’re making a big to-do about this because they feel like they’ve lost control,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tourism Committee members vowed to continue to promote the idea.
“Our strategy is to really start working with the business communities in other jurisdictions,” said Ocean City Chamber Executive Director Melanie Pursel. “In this community, the businesses were heard.”
