As parents around here know all too well, Floyd County schools open for the new year on Tuesday.  School buses will be on the road, football players are already in practice and teachers are getting ready for classrooms that will fill in a few days.

Yes, it does seem like schools start earlier and earlier each year.  A time once existed when the school year did not begin until after Labor Day.  In an time when even the threat of a snow storm can close schools, the year starts earlier and lots of snow days are built into a schedule.

In some parts of the country, school systems are experimenting with “year-round” schedules that give students more breaks during the school “year.”  In Raleigh, North Carolina, school for 2013-14 started on July 9 for 26,000 students.

Some educators believe that longer school years lead to better education.  Others say the “traditional” school schedules with summer breaks still work.

Like most issues that dominate the debate on public and private schools, opinions are varied and opinions passionate.