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Parent, teacher urges Burke County school board to reopen calendar vote; board agrees to review petition
Summary
Megan Vandeville, an ELA teacher and parent, asked the Burke County school board to discard previous calendar vote results and hold a new vote including the current calendar as a third option; the board heard the petition and agreed to review the submitted materials before deciding whether to reopen the vote.
Megan Vandeville, an English-language arts teacher at Burke County High School and a parent, told the Burke County School Board that stakeholders were denied a meaningful choice in a recent calendar poll and asked the board to “discard the results of the previous votes and conduct a new vote that includes a third calendar option comparable to our current model.”
Vandeville said teachers, parents and community members organized a petition asking that the existing calendar — which includes extended fall and winter breaks — be restored as an option or that a compromise schedule be offered. She said the district’s published data did not show the current calendar harmed academic performance and that the calendar’s structure supports students’ behavioral and emotional needs.
Board members acknowledged receipt of new materials and a late-arriving petition. During discussion, several board members said they wanted to review the petition data and other documents before deciding whether to reopen the calendar vote. One board member proposed reviewing materials in closed session so members could examine paper copies; others said the information could be discussed openly. No board motion to reopen the vote was approved at the meeting.
The district staff member who presented prior calendar polling materials said about 498 respondents participated in a 2023 survey, with roughly 42% identified as parents, and that a narrow plurality preferred the recommended calendar. She described the stakeholder process used to develop calendar options and said the district had gathered open-ended comments and multiple stakeholder group reviews before presenting two final options.
What happens next: board members asked staff to provide the petition and any additional materials to them for review. The board did not adopt a new calendar at this meeting and did not set a date for any reopening of the vote.
(Reporting note: direct quotes and assertions in this article are taken from the public comment of Megan Vandeville and from board discussion during the meeting.)
