Gov. Bob McDonnell is backing the repeal of a decades-old requirement that public schools begin classes after Labor Day, putting his political weight behind a cause that has long divided education groups and the tourism industry.
Under the so-called Kings Dominion law, schools that want to open before Labor Day — a last blast for family vacations and the state's tourist destinations — need a waiver from the Virginia Board of Education, which can grant one for "good cause."
That includes, for example, a school system that has been closed an average of eight days a year during five of the previous 10 years because of severe weather, power failures or other emergencies.
But over the years, McDonnell said, the exception has become the rule, as 77 of the state's 132 school divisions now have a waiver. The stance is a reversal for McDonnell, who, as a legislator from Virginia Beach, supported the law.
"This was a very difficult decision for me," he said in a news conference in Richmond, adding that it would be up to school districts to make a local decision to set their opening date before or after the holiday weekend.
It was nicknamed the Kings Dominion law because the Hanover County theme park was among the businesses that pushed for the measure in the 1980s. The bill was first signed into law for two years in 1986 and then permanently in 1988.
The proposed repeal was cheered by education groups that have long advocated for districts to have the power to set their own school calendars.
"This relic of the old economy is the definition of a burdensome, costly, outdated and unnecessary" law, said Joan E. Wodiska, president of the Virginia School Boards Association.
The Virginia Retail Federation has said that it will continue to fight legislation allowing school districts to start before Labor Day.
"The key reason is the amount of tourism tax dollars that come into the commonwealth that last week of August and through the Labor Day weekend," said George Peyton, vice president for government relations for the federation, the lobbying arm of the local Retail Merchants Association and the Retail Alliance in Hampton Roads.
Patricia Jones, vice president and general manager of Kings Dominion, which has about 3,500 seasonal workers, said in a statement Monday that "the governor has been provided empirical data which details the adverse impact on tourism if this law is repealed.
"Kings Dominion is very disappointed that the governor has decided to support the repeal of the post-Labor Day legislation which will negatively impact both jobs and families throughout the commonwealth," she said.
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