c	GUEST COLUMN   Hot under the collar over school year's early start Under the calendars adopted by many schools in Georgia and the Southeast, the school year now ends in late May and resumes in early August. For example, the 2004-2005 school year for DeKalb County Schools began Monday and ends on May 20.This structure was motivated largely by the belief that it's important to finish the semester before the long holiday break at the end of December. The thinking is that students lose too much over the break, and that academics suffer. MORE   NEWS CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 1, 2004   Uniform School Start Date Looks Good on All Counts (Atlanta) -- Citing research that shows students excel academically in states where end-of-semester exams are taken after the Winter Break, Representatives Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) and Joe Wilkinson (R-Atlanta) today pledged to file legislation codifying a uniform school start date and passing the travel and tourism industry's anticipated extra revenue to the schools. MORE   Cobb County Schools Considering Year Round Calendar Click here to see some of the documents we uncovered with public information request.   Year-round Schools: Is It The Answer Or A Mere Band-Aid?