VIRGINIA BEACH — At the height of the summer season, 75 Virginia Beach lifeguards gather for “muster,” or roll call, before heading to their stands on the sand.
When the season wanes toward the end of August, Capt. Tom Gill expects that number to drop off as college students go back to campus. But in years past, he’s always had high school students left to fill the roster through Labor Day.
Not this year.
For the first time, Virginia Beach Public Schools started before the holiday.
“It’s always a tricky situation,” Gill said. “This has just added to the difficulties.”
Most of the city’s tourism industry leaders have vehemently opposed an early school start because small businesses need to maintain their summer workforce through the holiday weekend.
They lost the battle last year, when the city’s School Board approved an earlier start date on the 2023-24 calendar. Norfolk also started school this week, as did virtually every division on the Peninsula. The Portsmouth and Chesapeake school divisions will begin classes after Labor Day.
The lifesaving service first felt the effect about a week ago when teachers who work as lifeguard supervisors during the summer had to return to the classroom.
High school students working jobs in the service industry also bowed out earlier than usual to prepare for school. Some employees asked for reduced hours, but businesses still are short-staffed even as vacationers are coming to the beach.
“I have my hostess, busers, runners, you know, everybody is all of sudden: ‘Can I cut my schedule down’,” said B.J. Baumann, owner of Rockafeller’s Restaurant.
Matt Redford of Chesapean Outdoors has been juggling staff shortages over the last couple of weeks with many of his summer workers returning to college, followed by another batch going back to high school, including his two sons.
School administrators in support of the earlier start have said there are several benefits, including extra instructional time before students take standardized assessments and time for staff to prepare transitions between terms, The Virginian-Pilot has reported.
The division could revert back to a pre-Labor Day start next year. Interim Virginia Beach School Board Superintendent Donald Robertson said this week that a calendar committee will collect community feedback on the earlier start date when considering the start of future school years.
But the situation this month has forced some businesses to make difficult choices. Redford opted not to provide kayak and paddleboard rentals last weekend because he needed his remaining employees to run guided water tours.
“This time of year, we rely heavily on them (high school students),” Redford said. “It just makes it harder for small businesses.”
As for the service lifeguards provide, where safety is the top priority, expect less staff than usual keeping watch over the beach.
“We do have some guards left to put on stands, but it won’t be the typical presence we would maintain this week,” Gill said.
Staff writer Cait Burchett contributed to this report.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]
