Going to school all year long?

If Ohio students think making up excess snow days on Saturdays or vacations is bad. . .wait until they hear this one.

During an Associated Press' conference in Columbus today, Gov. Ted Strickland was asked what he might do to improve Ohio's status among states, and its educational system in general.

A longer school-year, possibly continuing through the summer months, is one of the newly-elected Democrat's favorites. Gone are the days of an agriculture-driven economy, and the need for children to work on family farms during the warmer months, Strickland said.

"We are in the fight of our life when it comes to this global economy," Strickland said.

Afterward, Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman, joked that his boss would make schoolchildren work through lunch if he could.

Kidding aside, Dailey said that Strickland talked conceptually about lengthening the school year during last year's campaign, and might offer more details later as part of his commitment to educational reform.

J.C. Benton, a state Education Department spokesman, said school calendars are set by local districts. Benton said a few of the state's 613 school districts already are in session year-round.