To the editor:
Our current school calendars need attention by our General Assembly and Gov. McCrory immediately. The NC General Assembly took school calendar authority away from local school districts in 2004 which mandates when the public school instructional year could begin and end. School districts now cannot start till the Monday closest to August 26 and close Friday closest to June 11. Educational waivers have been eliminated altogether and school districts could provide fewer than 180 days of instruction during the school year as long as we meet the minimum 1,025 hours as noted in the 2012 calendar law change.
School districts should have the option to open earlier in order to finish first semester exams by winter break — essentially working with the same calendar as our local community colleges. We are using a one-size-fits-all statewide calendar and instead we should allow our local district schools the flexibility to determine the start/end dates as long as we are meeting the 185 days or the 1,025 minimum hours. Why not try to listen to those who have the most experience — school administrators, educational professionals and local school boards? You don’t ask your plumber to administer an influenza shot, do you?
Even the General Assembly’s House Study Committee on Education Innovation (2013) report found that presenters stressed the importance of flexibility in the public schools. The House Bill 1049, titled “Restore School Calendar Education Purpose Waiver” was filed on May 14, 2014, as a recommendation of the Committee and the bill was referred to the House Committee on Commerce and Job Development, but did not receive a hearing.
It appears to me that we are talking out of both sides of the mouth — one side declares the value of education and doing whatever we need to make our schools better with education reform while the other side thinks it is more important for families to spend the first three weeks of August vacationing in the state.
According to the 2013 North Carolina Visitor Profile by the N.C. Department of Commerce, 32 percent travel to North Carolina in the summer (June–August). July is the single largest month for travel to the state at 14 percent. Thirty-four percent of 2013 overnight visitors to North Carolina visited relatives, 22 percent shopped, 19 percent visited friends followed by visiting a beach, rural sightseeing, fine dining, visiting historic sites/churches and visiting state/national parks. If we look at vacation-designated dates historically in North Carolina — especially in the manufacturing segment — July 4th week is the most popular vacation week. Mecklenburg, Wake and Guilford counties have the greatest impact of travel in North Carolina in state and local tax receipts. Within that study prepared for the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development by the U.S. Travel Association, only four out of the top 25 N.C. counties in state and local tax receipts are coastal counties.
I fully support the value of tourism in North Carolina, but the message out of Raleigh is different. I have heard countless times, “the Commerce Department would fight against local school districts having calendar control.” So, what are we going to do going forward? Currently, 62 school districts across North Carolina have filed resolutions on behalf of local control of school calendars and 14 bills have been filed this session on behalf of school districts by members in both the N.C. House and N.C. Senate. Are these bills being filed just as token bills or are we going to have real conversations? According to my North Carolina public schools education, 54 percent of our school districts are in support of local school calendar authority — that would win any election. You don’t need a $10 million pilot program or special committees to further “kick the can down the road.”
The education professionals have spoken loudly and in a majority for several years now; it’s time to act on our behalf.
Todd Cutler
Asheboro
Editor’s note: Todd Cutler chairs the Randolph County Board of Education.
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