TL; DR

The meeting was conducted virtually due to a winter snow storm the previous day.

The board

• received a first look at the school calendar for 2026-27.

• began development of its 2025 legislative agenda.

• received a presentation from the NC School Board Association on its superintendent search process.

• planned its one day Soring Retreat for March 12, 2025, 4:30pm – 7:30pm.

Traditional Calendar for SY 2026-27

Note: Information below is copied from the Abstract for the meeting:

Typically, the district’s administration, in conjunction with the calendar committee, presents a two-year calendar for adoption by the Board of Education (BOE) every two years. The board approved the 2024 25 and 2025-26 calendars on February 15, 2024.

During this calendar cycle, various stakeholder groups recommended that the committee prepare calendars two years in advance for better planning. As a result, the calendar committee will now convene annually and present a single traditional-year calendar that extends two years ahead.

The committee is composed of representatives from various stakeholder groups, who are responsible for gathering and sharing information. The district emphasized the importance of amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups throughout the process. Additionally, the feedback process was slightly modified from previous years. The committee developed a survey, administered through Qualtrics, to gather input from all stakeholder groups.

Once the traditional calendar is approved, the district will collaborate with the Hospital School to develop a calendar that closely aligns with the traditional calendar while meeting the specific needs of that school.

For reference, below is a synopsis of state laws governing school calendars:

1. Start date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and end date no later than the Friday closest to June 11 (unless a weather-related calendar waiver has been approved, year-round school, charter school, or cooperative innovative high school.) If the waiver is approved, the start date can be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19.

2. There are no educational purpose waivers for exemption of the opening and/or closing dates.

3. All schools within the district must be closed all day for purposes of determining eligibility for a weather-related waiver (delayed starts or early dismissals of two or more hours no longer apply).

4. Covers at least nine calendar months.

5. Must have a minimum of 185 days OR 1,025 hours of instruction.

6. Must have at least nine (9) teacher workdays.

7. Local Boards shall designate two (2) workdays on which teachers may take accumulated vacation leave. Local Boards may designate the remaining workdays as days teachers may take accumulated vacation leave.

8. Have a minimum of ten (10) annual vacation leave days.

9. Have the same or an equivalent number of legal holidays occurring within the school calendar as those designated by the State Personnel Commission for State employees.

10. School shall not be held on Sunday. Veterans Day shall be a holiday for all public school personnel and for all students enrolled in the public schools.

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Development of the Board of Education's 2025 Legislative Program

The board began development of its legislative priorities for 2025.

BACKGROUND: The legislative program is a series of statements that serve as CHCCS’ official record of priorities on state legislative issues. The contents apply to the advocacy work that the BOE would like to do in the legislature and/or with our local delegation. While individual Board Members have many positions in which they are interested, establishing a focus for their priorities is a critical responsibility of the full Board of Education.

Typical topics to be included moving forward include: Staff compensation and benefits, staff recruitment, school calendar, universal Pre-K, Charter and private school accountability (“level the playing field,” and capital needs. I expect that we will include something about opposition to the private school voucher giveaway.

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North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) Superintendent Search Process

The board is in the early stages of developing a process to search for and select a new superintendent. Look for an update at the March 6, 2025, board meeting.

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Planning for the Spring 2025 Board of Education Retreat

The board decided to hold a one-day retreat on March 12, 2025, 4:30pm – 7:30pm. The theme is a “Conversation with Principals.”

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