NILES — With a light murmur of approval Monday evening, Brandywine Community Schools’ board members officially noted their interest in starting the school year a week before Labor Day.

The unanimous vote allowed the district to send in a letter of support to the Berrien Regional Education Service Agency, which is seeking a state of Michigan waiver to allow its districts an opt-in for an earlier start.

A 2005 state law requires schools to start school after Labor Day, which is the first Monday of September. School districts or intermediate school districts, like Berrien RESA, can request an exception to the law, however.

Berrien RESA Superintendent Kevin Ivers said he sent in a waiver request Tuesday morning to the state. Included were eight letters of support, including from Buchanan Community Schools and Niles Community Schools.

If approved, all Berrien County school districts could opt in to start before Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 7 for the 2020-2021 school year.

Brandywine Superintendent Karen Weimer said the letter of support does not necessarily mean the district will switch to a pre-Labor Day start. Rather, it allows the district to have the option.

“I’ve been talking to our [teachers] union president about it,” she said. “We’re not talking about starting three weeks early or anything like that. We’re still talking about starting around Labor Day and having the same number of contracted days.”

The union and Weimer plan to release a joint survey to parents and guardians of the district to gauge interest in the change as both consider the option together.

Ivers said that Berrien RESA released its own survey and found that 51 percent of its parents and guardians were in favor of the change. Another 36 percent did not have an opinion on the change.

The superintendent said there is a growing trend among school districts and intermediate school districts to start before Labor Day. Currently, Michigan is one of three states to have a mandatory school start date. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, approximately two-thirds of Michigan counties have districts that utilize the waiver.

The law was originally created to boost Michigan tourism. With a later school start date, it was hoped that end-of-summer vacations would increase. Abilities to vacation around Labor Day are a perk some parents want to keep.

“I understand why it switched, but I think there’s compelling evidence why there’s really not that much of a burden, I think, for districts,” Ivers said. “We’re just asking for a week earlier.”

To school districts, a later start date would not only get children out for summer earlier in the year. If snow days pile up, the district would not have to keep its students into the second or third week of June, Ivers said.

Labor Day is also later in September for the next two years, pushing the school year release date further into June.

Ivers also said some school districts may be able host final exams before winter break in late December rather than after break in January, making for a more sensical split in semesters.

If the waiver is approved, Ivers hopes to continue the Berrien County school districts’ trend of having a common start date. That, he said, can make it easier for families that children enrolled in both RESA schools and regular school districts.

As part of Michigan law, school districts are required to have the Friday before Labor Day and Labor Day itself off.