MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s tourism industry is opposing a rule that would allow school boards to start the school year before Sept. 1.
Current law only allows early starts for “extraordinary reasons,” which include major construction projects and building closures. Under the proposed rule that the Department of Public Instruction is considering, school boards could set a new start date if they believe it would improve students’ outcomes.
Seasonal businesses like resorts, recreational equipment rentals and restaurants testified against the rule in a public hearing on Monday, arguing that if the fall semester began in August, it could leave them without the teenage employees they rely on during the peak of the summer. Supporters testified that the new rule would give school boards more power to do what they believe is best for their students.
“The last two weeks of August are the most important of the year for our business. Please don’t take them away,” Joel Klimczak, general manager of Cave of the Mounds, said in the hearing.
In an interview, Klimzcak said Cave of the Mounds employs roughly 50 teenagers each summer. He also said that most families stop visiting the cave once one of their children starts school.
The proposed rule still needs to be approved by the governor and by a legislative committee before it goes on the books. Several previous attempts by Republican lawmakers to pass the proposal as a bill have failed.
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