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Board discusses 2025–26 calendar alignment, waiver filed by Rep. Renee Price and graduation on Friday evenings
Summary
Board members discussed a legislative waiver to align the district calendar with surrounding districts and debated a Friday evening graduation date, but took no formal action pending state decisions and possible special meeting.
Board members discussed the adopted 2025–26 school calendar and a pending waiver filed by Representative Renee Price that would allow Caswell County Schools to align its calendar with neighboring districts and Piedmont Community College (referred to in meeting notes as "PCC"). The board did not change the adopted calendar at the meeting.
Discussion focused on whether graduation for the Class of 2026 should be scheduled on a Friday evening rather than Saturday. Principal Stokes (mentioned in the meeting) provided rationale in a message read to the board: a Friday evening ceremony would allow staff to work within their regular contracted hours, reduce the need for overtime or compensatory time, maximize teacher work days for end-of-year preparation, and provide families more time for post‑graduation celebrations without conflicting with weekday instructional time. The principal also recommended notifying the senior class parent groups well in advance.
Several board members relayed concerns from parents and staff. One board member said parents told her they preferred a Saturday daytime ceremony because of safety concerns about students leaving Friday night; another noted historical shifts from evening to daytime graduations driven by crowd and behavior concerns. A board member said the calendar committee recommended the change and framed it as a broader scheduling decision that other districts could also adopt.
Superintendent Gwen noted the district must submit calendar data to Infinite Campus by a February deadline and that if the General Assembly acts on the waiver, the board might need a special-called meeting to adopt a revised calendar consistent with any statewide action. The board took no formal vote to change the calendar and left the matter pending the General Assembly’s action and possible subsequent board action.
Ending Board members said they would monitor state action on the waiver and reconvene if needed to adopt a revised calendar that aligns with surrounding districts.
