By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
A local school official calls a recent decision by the General Assembly to allow school systems to set yearly schedules that meet for 185 days or 1,025 hours beginning in 2013 a “really good decision.”
Students currently attend school 180 days, but legislators opted to extend the academic year by five days last year. That decision prompted some concern from school systems in regards to financing for buses and lunches during those additional days and has resulted in waivers for the extra five days.
The latest decision allows for flexibility because schools previously had to meet minimums in both hours and days.
“Our principals have been saying they want more time,” said Dr. Pam Cain, superintendent of the Kannapolis City school district. “We really appreciate the General Assembly giving us some time to determine how we want to do that.”
Cain said the district will be taking a “hard look” at research to determine the right approach.
“More time is not better unless you use it effectively,” she said. “One of the things that we’ve got to look at is what’s happening during that time because it’s good to have more time, but we want to make sure it’s quality.”
Parents, teachers and school administrators will be part of calendar planning conversation, Cain said. That process will likely begin this fall.
“Decisions like this have an impact so we want to be sure to include as many people as possible,” she said.
Nathan Currie, an assistant superintendent with the Rowan-Salisbury School System, said the district had some preliminary discussions about the possibility of the change before it became law Tuesday.
“We have not finalized any decisions for the 2013-2014 school year,” he said in an email to the Post.
Rowan-Salisbury Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom did not return multiple calls from a Post reporter this week seeking comment about the changes.
The either-or calendar option means that school districts operating 61/2-hour school days could wrap up future years after 158 days, said Leanne Winner of the N.C. School Boards Association, which opposed the changes.
Also beginning in 2013, the legally mandated dates for the public school year could float. Traditional calendar schools have been barred from opening earlier than Aug. 25 or closing later than June 10.
Most schools will open on the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and wrap up on the Friday closest to June 11, cutting out mid-week beginnings and endings, starting next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.
Twitter: twitter.com/posteducation
Facebook: facebook.com/Sarah.SalisburyPost