Buncombe board adopts resolution urging state to restore local control over school calendars
Loading...
Summary
The board unanimously adopted a resolution supporting calendar flexibility, asking the General Assembly to allow earlier starts and to remove the equal‑semester requirement in Senate Bill 754 so first‑semester exams can occur before winter break and to better align with community college schedules.
The Buncombe County Board of Education voted Jan. 15 to adopt a resolution calling on the North Carolina General Assembly to restore greater local control over school calendars.
Superintendent Dr. Ronald Jackson said the board supports calendar flexibility because the state’s mandated start date prevents many districts from finishing the first semester before the winter break, which he said leads to exams being scheduled after the holiday and creates instructional inefficiencies. The resolution cites the 2004 and 2012 calendar laws and welcomes the Senate’s 2025 Senate Bill 754, but asks the General Assembly to remove the bill’s requirement that both semesters contain equal numbers of school days so a district could start a week earlier without forcing a semester parity constraint.
The resolution also instructs the board chair and superintendent to disseminate the adopted resolution to North Carolina legislators and encourages parents, students and community members to contact their representatives. Board members discussed legal consequences districts have faced when unilaterally changing calendars and acknowledged that, even if the law changes, the board wants a version that gives meaningful flexibility. The motion to adopt the resolution was made, seconded and passed by voice vote; the chair recorded no opposition.
The board approved the resolution as a formal expression of support for legislative change and encouraged county and municipal governments within Buncombe County to adopt similar resolutions in support of calendar flexibility.
