Cleveland County Board adopts plan to reclaim instructional hours after heavy snow

The Cleveland County Board of Education on Feb. 9 approved a multi-part plan to make up instructional time lost during recent snow and ice closures, voting 7–2 to adopt Superintendent Dr. Fisher’s recommendation.

Dr. Fisher told the board that the district’s calendar and Board Policy 3330 (minimum school day 6 hours, 50 minutes) and the state baseline of 1,025 instructional hours required a recovery plan after multiple zone closures and two-hour delays reduced instructional time. He said the district had 31 instructional hours “banked” in the calendar but faced deficits of roughly 17 hours in some attendance zones and 21 hours in others.

The adopted plan calls for four changes: converting the early-release day on Thursday, Feb. 12, to a full in-person school day (reclaiming about two hours); designating Friday, Feb. 13, as a remote instructional day (planned to deliver roughly six hours); changing Friday, March 13 (originally a teacher work day) to a student day (six hours); and adding 10 minutes to each school day beginning March 2, which the superintendent estimated would yield roughly 9.1 additional hours for the remainder of the year.

“We strongly believe that face-to-face instruction is what’s best,” Dr. Fisher said while outlining the plan, adding that some courses are more amenable to remote work but that the district must prioritize students who rely on schools for meals and supervision. “When they’re not in school, many of our students don’t eat breakfast. Many of our students don’t eat lunch. Many of our students don’t have a warm, safe place to be.”

Board members pressed for alternatives, including asking the North Carolina General Assembly to forgive missed days. Dr. Fisher said district leaders were engaged in statewide conversations about a legislative request for day forgiveness but could not delay adopting a local plan on the chance the legislature would act.

Several board members expressed reservations about the remote day and the effect of longer student days on teacher schedules. One board member cited evidence that remote days are less effective locally and warned about students missing meals; Dr. Fisher and others replied that the district would provide supports but still favored in-person instruction where possible. The superintendent said most teacher schedules would not require significant extension because many schools already exceed the board’s minimum daily time.

Vote at a glance: the motion to adopt the superintendent’s reclamation plan passed 7–2. Earlier routine motions approved the meeting agenda, minutes, a budget amendment tied to state-provided bus replacements, and personnel promotions, each recorded as 8–0.

The board also noted it would bring back legislative priorities at the March meeting and continue outreach to state officials about possible relief should the General Assembly act on day forgiveness.