Lengthen the school year?

Portland Press Herald, March 13, 2007

(excerpt) A proposal to add 10 days to the state's 175-day school year is scheduled for a public hearing before the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee at 1 p.m. today.

It is sponsored by Sen. Peter Mills, R-Skowhegan, who argues the measure will raise Maine's state and national achievement test scores and increase teacher salaries by paying them for the 10 extra days.

The Mills bill is one of at least two proposals this session that would tweak Maine's long-standing school calendar, which requires Maine's 198,000 school children to spend at least 175 days a year in school and five hours each school day in instruction. Another proposal, to benefit the tourism industry, would require schools to wait until after Labor Day to start the school year.

Supporters of a longer school year believe it would improve education and make Maine students more competitive in the global economy. It's a debate that's playing out in other states, too, such as Massachusetts and Illinois. But the price -- $44 million in extra pay and costs to keep schools open longer -- could make it hard for the bill to win broad support in the Legislature.

"We have the shortest school day in America or probably the free world," Mills said.