Longer school year would hurt tourism, many say

TOLEDO (AP) — Adding four weeks to Ohio’s school year will create a shorter summer travel season and hurt everyone from big amusement parks to family-run campgrounds, those in the travel industry say.

Some argue that the proposal for an extended school year announced last week by Gov. Ted Strickland will cost jobs and shrink tax revenue at a time when the state can’t afford it.

“This is going to hit them in the pocketbook,” said Paige Alost, head of the Athens County Visitors Bureau in southeast Ohio. “For us, tourism is a major economic factor, not just in the county but in our region.”

Tourism has been a growth industry, too, generating $38 billion for Ohio in 2007. That’s up by $10 billion since 2003.

Strickland’s goal of adding 20 days to the school year is just one piece of his plan to overhaul Ohio’s public schools and increase learning in the classroom.

School districts will be able to determine when to add the extra days that will be phased in over the next decade, said Amanda Wurst, a spokeswoman for the governor. “There will be flexibility,” she said.

So far, there are few other details about the changing school calendar and how much it will cost to pay teachers and operate buildings over four additional weeks.

What’s certain is that travel industry leaders will try to convince legislative leaders that cutting the summer short will hurt businesses that produce about $2.5 billion in annual tax revenue for state and local governments.

“We’re not a Sun Belt state. Families have a limited window to travel,” said John Hildebrandt, general manager of Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky.

He expects the tourism industry to be united on the issue. Cedar Point and others already had been pushing the state to delay the start of school until after Labor Day to help tourism create more jobs.

“It’s a big part of Ohio’s future and can be a big part of Ohio’s recovery,” Hildebrandt said.

Strickland’s administration in September said that promoting tourism would be one of its key initiatives to revive the state’s economy.

The Ohio Travel Association would rather see the school day lengthened than have more days added, said Marc McQuaid, the trade group’s executive director. “We’d like to see a compromise,” he said.

Teens, teachers and college students who depend on summer tourism jobs would take a financial hit too, he said.

It’s not just tourism operators who are concerned.

Marcia Helman, who owns two ice cream shops in Toledo, said she’d feel an impact also. “Once school starts, business drops no matter whether it’s warm on not,” she said.

Places that have built their economy around tourism say they have the most to lose if the school year begins in early August or ends in late June.

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say it would kill the town,” said Don Woodward, a Geneva-on-the-Lake businessman who operates a winery, water slide and entertainment center with miniature golf and bumper boats.

The town that sits along Lake Erie in the northeast corner of the state is a throwback to an era when people spent summers staying at quaint cottages and swimming at beaches.

He said what people forget is that tourism goes beyond amusement parks and museums.

“It’s mom-and-pop canoe liveries, campgrounds and little groceries,” he said. “All those things are greatly impacted.”

Much of the tourist season on South Bass Island in Lake Erie lasts only about 10 weeks, said Put-in-Bay Mayor Mack McCann. Taking away four weeks would be devastating, he said.

“We plan our business around the school year,” McCann said. “The entire island is tourism. That is our industry.”