Some say early start date for south Ga. schools affects tourism

<p>When school resumes on the Georgia coast on Aug. 9, Summer Waves water park on Jekyll Island will lose dozens of its employees _ the 100 or so teens working at the park who will head back to classrooms in less than two weeks.</p><p>Starting school while summer is still sizzling cools off business, critics of the early school year say _ and it's not just about tourism.</p><p>"There are kids who need to work during the summer to afford school items," Bill Tipton, executive director of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Visitors Bureau, told The Brunswick News. "They're losing two to three weeks of income."</p><p>Tipton said he wants the Glynn County Board of Education to push back the Aug. 9 starting date and go back to later openings. He has the support of state House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island, who is in favor of a late August start date.</p><p>"Schools start here the first week of August, and we're having to cool buildings down in peak heat areas," Keen said, explaining that tourism is not the only issue. "I get a regular amount of mail from parents of students who wanted to sign up for (summer programs) and because we have such early start dates in Georgia, compared to other states, they're unable to."</p><p>Other states are adapting to the early start, said Bert Brantley, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. He said state parks and historic sites have embraced the shorter summer by scheduling events during shorter school breaks in the fall, winter and spring.</p><p>Laurie Frost, operations manager for the McIntosh County Chamber of Commerce, said fuel prices have more effect on the economy than school calendars.</p><p>"Our visitor count has remained consistent for July and August for the last three or four years, until this July, which brought much higher gas prices," Frost said.</p><p>Glynn Academy freshman Margaret Bujold and her mother, Coco, aren't complaining. The 14-year-old said she's looking forward to getting back to school and meeting new people.</p><p>And, the girl notes, the sooner she starts, the sooner she can finish.</p><p>"I think I'd rather go back in August because at the end of the year we're ready to get out earlier," Margaret Bujold said.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc750)</p>

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