Governor Hogan announced an order that will push back the start of
Maryland’s schools until after Labor Day starting in 2017. While some
school officials and legislators have attacked the Governor’s efforts,
many are applauding his decision.
According to a Washington Post article, “Hogan noted that parents across the state have expressed enthusiastic support for a later start date.”
Delaying
the start of the school year will also help many Maryland small
businesses that rely on tourism and employ high school students.
“It’s a win-win for all Marylanders!” said Larry Stottlemyer who owns and operates Adventure Park USA in Frederick County. “There are several ways that this order will help us. We will be
able to have the whole park open for all Maryland residents now through Labor Day.”
Stottlemyer
said that he was forced to close the park early this year because many
of his employees are high school students in Frederick County who
returned to school earlier than other surrounding counties. “We didn’t
have the employees to keep the whole park open and we had a lot of
guests who were upset,” he said.
Due
to the Governors order he said that his high school employees will
have the opportunity to make more money and will be paying more taxes
which benefits the state. It will also give Maryland families more time
to enjoy quality time at the park.
Senator Mathias, who
represents Ocean City shared the same sentiments and joined Governor
Hogan for the announcement of the order. Knowing that this will help the
shore, Mathias has introduced legislation to
delay the start date until after Labor Day for several years, but the
legislation never made it out of committee.
