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Board adopts 2025-26 school calendars after heated debate; early college passes unanimously
Summary
After extended discussion about semester length and exam timing, the board approved the traditional and early college 2025-26 calendars. The early college calendar passed unanimously; the traditional calendar passed with several members recorded as opposed.
The Robeson County Board of Education spent substantial time Thursday reviewing and voting on the 2025-26 school calendars for the district and its early college program before approving both calendars.
Bobby Lottleyer (presenter) reviewed state calendar requirements including earliest/latest start dates, a minimum instructional requirement (either 185 days or 1,025 hours) and teacher work-day minimums. He said the district has historically built calendars to meet a thousand-and-twenty-five-hour requirement and described how the calendar committee (including principals and teachers) constructed the proposed schedule. “We follow the all requirements of the law were met within this calendar,” he said.
Board members raised multiple questions about semester balance and whether exams should be scheduled before or after Christmas. Member Terry and others asked why neighboring systems test before the holiday; staff said shortening the first semester to accommodate pre-Christmas testing reduces instructional days in that semester and could pack too many required tests and activities into a short period. Dr. Williamson, the superintendent, told the board he would not recommend a calendar that created an unbalanced semester: “We are not gonna recommend a 50 day semester,” he said, citing testing-policy and instructional-balance concerns.
Board member Trey Britt said he polled teachers he knows at the high-school level and took their preference into account when voting. Other members noted the district’s long-standing practice of building banked instructional minutes into the day to avoid post-hoc make-up days for weather closures.
After discussion, a motion to adopt both calendars was moved and seconded. The early college calendar passed unanimously. The traditional calendar passed with several members recorded as opposed; the minutes record split votes and identify at least three board members as voting “no.” The board noted that split votes must be recorded in the minutes by name.
Staff said graduation dates and semester testing windows were coordinated with principals and that the district plans to finish the traditional year on June 9 and hold graduation activities around June 12. Lottleyer summarized instructional-day counts (first semester/higher school totals) and said the calendar design maintains a 375-minute instructional day to preserve the district’s hour total.
Board members asked staff to convene a curriculum committee meeting before the next meeting to further discuss testing timing and instructional balance. Dr. Williamson and staff said they will follow up and return to the board with any recommended changes before finalizing consequential scheduling details.
