Quarter of all North Carolina districts ‘openly flout the law’ with school calendar violations 

Over one in four North Carolina school districts are violating state policy by starting their academic calendars before the legal date of Aug. 24, a recent report discovered.

“The current state school calendar law, enacted in 2004, requires the state’s traditional K-12 public school districts to begin no later than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and have an end date of no later than the Friday closest to June 11,” the North State Journal explained. “There are no enforcement mechanisms in the law.”

However, a report reviewed by the state’s education board listed 30 of the state’s 118 districts as noncompliant, setting an earlier start date than the law allows “without a statutory exception or good cause waiver,” the news outlet reported.

“It’s unfortunate that education officials continue to openly flout the law,” wrote Lauren Horsch, deputy chief for communications for outgoing Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Eden.

“Despite what those officials will tell you, it is possible to complete exams before Christmas. We know that because there are districts that already do just that.”

Previous legislative attempts to widen the range of acceptable school calendar start and end dates have failed in past years.

However, a Senate bill filed in April proposes a compromise, with one option including earlier start times if the semesters have equal days.

“This balances the desire of some school districts to start the school year earlier while still supporting our local businesses dependent on summer tourism,” Berger said in a release at the time. “We must take the appropriate steps to hold school districts that break the law accountable.”

Since its passage in the Senate, the bill “is eligible to be considered by the House,” according to Horsch.

‘Budgets are extremely tight in public education’

The findings come as the Tar Heel State grapples with increasing educational expenses, falling enrollment and slower birth rates.

“A school, oftentimes, is the anchor of a community, and generations pass through those doors,” said Stan Winborne, superintendent of Granville County Public Schools (GCPS). “Unfortunately, the business side of things often is what really is driving the decisions. Budgets are extremely tight in public education, and we need to make every dollar count.”

The district, which is based in Oxford, enrolls approximately 6,700 students. It closed one of its elementary schools, Wilson, at the end of this school year.

“You still have to have the same number of clerical staff, administrators, support staff and so on to run the school, but you have many fewer students,” Winborne noted, “so it makes it much more expensive for the school district.”