ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Comptroller Peter Franchot is praising a vote by a state task force to recommend a longer summer break for Maryland students.

Franchot said Tuesday the later start would be good for families and Maryland tourism businesses on the Eastern Shore and in western Maryland.

The comptroller says the beginning of the school year has been creeping in the wrong direction into summer.

Franchot notes that Worcester County on the Eastern Shore has decided to go back to starting school after Labor Day.

A Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates report last year found that extended the summer holiday would have a net effect of an additional $74.3 million in direct economic activity.

A state task force voted Monday night to recommend to the governor that public schools begin after Labor Day.

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