Pre-Labor Day school start sparks community backlash in Kennebunk: Here's why

KENNEBUNK, Maine — RSU 21 Superintendent Terri Cooper is exploring other options for when to start the upcoming school year after local business leaders, parents and others pushed back against the district’s current proposal to start classes before Labor Day.

As a result of the public feedback, the RSU 21 School Board tabled its discussion on the district’s proposed 2024-2025 calendar during its March 18 meeting.

“We expect to revisit the subject and make a final decision at our next board meeting on April 1,” School Board Chair Erin Nadeau said in an email.

Labor Day falls on Monday, Sept. 2, this year. Cooper is proposing that school starts on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 27 and 28, with teachers starting days before, as well.

Laura Dolce, the executive director of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce, summarized the public’s concerns about a pre-Labor Day start date for classes in a letter to the School Board. She said people were focused on the impacts that a pre-Labor Day start could have on the local tourist economy, family vacations, and the comfort level of students.

Dolce said a recent poll by the chamber showed that approximately 93% of 547 participants want students to start school after Labor Day.

For years, the district discussed possible start dates for a new school year with members of the business community, as a consideration of the local tourist economy, Dolce noted in her letter. When the district had its first day of school after Labor Day, students and staff were able to work longer and businesses were able to remain open longer, she added.

“In recent years, that is not the case,” Dolce said. “The pre-Labor Day starts have resulted in some businesses closing early, cutting hours, or decreasing services.”

When students return to school early, Dolce said, staffing challenges occur that can affect the ability of a business to remain open. Even if students can continue working once school starts, businesses need to comply with new child labor laws, she added.

Dolce referred to KPort Bagel, a new shop whose entire staff is comprised of local high school students, as one example of a business that would be affected by an early start for classes. She also mentioned the Kennebunk Fire Department, which loses five of its teen lifeguards during the final busy beach days of summer when their classes start early.

“And the list goes on,” Dolce assured the school board.

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Business leaders, parents push for post-Labor Day school start

Members of the local business community echoed these points when they spoke during the School Board’s meeting on March 18.

Tina Hewitt-Gordon, the general manager of the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, said her business is a large employer of local students. She told the board that, on some level, the school district is a part of the community’s efforts to help local businesses succeed.

“We are a community,” she said. “We all work together. We support you, and we hope you’re going to support the business community and make every single effort that you can to look into altering the calendar to make it work for everybody.”

Sheila Matthews-Bull, who is a member of the Kennebunkport Select Board and also a local business owner, described the school district’s towns as a “tourist community” that is busy from Memorial Day through Labor Day. She said the idea of starting school before Labor Day “makes no sense to me.”

“What you do to us bothers me,” Matthews-Bull told the board and Cooper. “What you do to us really hurts.”

In her letter, Dolce added that she also has heard from parents who are concerned about family vacations that are cut short and about their children sitting in class during days that are 90 degrees or hotter. Dolce said parents also are concerned about the students’ focus and sense of continuity when they attend school for two days, have a four-day holiday weekend, and then resume class.

Parents are not the only ones with such concerns, Dolce noted.

“We heard from teachers describing overheated, distracted students who couldn’t settle down, and of the disconnect caused by the four-day vacation days in between,” Dolce said.

Dolce told the board that people understand that “education comes first.” She reminded the board of the business community’s contributions to local education – career days, internships, and job fairs, for example – and said no one is suggesting compromising students’ academics.

“Instead, we’re asking for a return to post-Labor Day starts, which will allow businesses to continue through the busy Labor Day weekend, and kids and families (to have) that last full week together,” she said.

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Why RSU 21 wants to keep school start date in August

In an email, Nadeau, the school board chair, said that RSU 21 has started school before Labor Day in recent years because it gives students a gradual transition from summer to the new academic year.

“Starting prior to Labor Day has also allowed for some buffer for snow days, without extending the school year into the later weeks of June,” Nadeau added.According to Nadeau, the proposed school calendar also provided room for dedicated workdays for staff to engage in professional development, planning, and collaboration.

“These days are vital for maintaining the high-quality education we provide to our students,” Nadeau said.

In the past two years, students and staff have started school on a staggered, two-day basis in late August, with the younger grades starting on the first day and the older ones starting the day after.

Nadeau said it is important for the School Board to hear from the community and, in this case, about how a late-August class start could impact local families and businesses. She also spoke of the responsibility that the district and the School Board share when crafting a calendar.

“At the end of the day, we must base our decision on how it will affect students, their education and training,” she said.

At the School Board meeting on March 18, Cooper said the district’s proposed calendar was not created “lightly, or in isolation.” She said the process involved coordinating with numerous other school districts and taking such factors as budgeting, the consequences of extending the year late into June, and making sure students get 181 days of instructional time, among others.

Cooper said she and the School Board had received as many as 25 to 30 emails from the public on the issue. She said she understood that many people in the community are “upset and frustrated.” She said she understood the desire for a later start date but also wanted to make something clear.

“Make no mistake,” she said. “Our primary responsibility is to prioritize the educational needs of our students. That is the purpose of our schools.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Pre-Labor Day school start sparks community backlash in Kennebunk