A decade-long debate continues. In January this year, House Bill 9 was introduced in the North Carolina legislature, once again proposing flexibility for school districts in planning their calendars. By law districts now must start no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 except in certain cases, and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11.

The bill had bipartisan sponsorship, led by Rep. Craig Horn, a Republican from Weddington. The discussion puts parents, the tourism industry, legislators and educators on different sides of a complex issue.

 “If we can’t generate some support in the Senate, we can’t make progress with it. It makes no sense to continue on an agrarian calendar. You’ve got to have more flexibility in delivering education,” Horn said.

Horn co-chaired the House Study Committee on Education Innovation, which issued a report in December calling for reinstating waivers for calendar flexibility and additional study of obligatory start and stop dates for schools.

The tourism industry is concerned about seasonal income, the educational system about meeting educational requirements and parents about losing summer vacation days.

The N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) posted this statement on its website: “NCRLA has actively opposed this legislation and other bills that would weaken the summer tourism season by shortening the length of public school summer vacations.”

According to its website, NCRLA supports the current calendar law because family vacations taken during the summer season are essential to North Carolina’s tourism industry, the tourism industry relies on high school students during the summer season and the students receive income through these jobs and also work skills.

NCRLA reports that starting school in late August produces as much as $1 billion each year in economic growth through increased tourism-related sales and that other states with late August start dates report no educational impact.

“The Wilmington Area Hospitality Association (WAHA) monitors the school calendars for not only the state of North Carolina, but from other states who have visitors that travel to this area. There is not as much of a focus within the association in the local four-county region, as during the height of the summer, most visitors come from outside the area said Heather Loftin, president of the WAHA board. 

“What we see is that most northern United States schools do not return to classrooms until after Labor Day, and that is where we monitor most closely as that would have the most impact.”

Some examples of varying calendars include those in Boston, Massachusetts, which begin the day after Labor Day and continue until June 29 and those in Charleston, South Carolina, which began Aug. 17 and end June 2.

Schools in New Hanover County on the traditional year schedule started classes Aug. 24, and will ring the final bell of the year June 9.

Educators look at a different side of the issue. They have to meet the law’s requirement to provide 185 instructional days or 1,025 hours per school year, while planning around required holidays. So a later start date equals a later ending date while unforeseen events can cut into planned hours.

Restricting those requirements to dates between Aug. 26 and June 11 can be challenging, they said.

There are several reasons that districts are seeking calendar flexibility, reported LaChawn Smith, assistant superintendent for instruction and academic accountability for the New Hanover County school district.

“One reason is related to the different ways in which inclement weather impacts different regions around the state,” Smith  said. “With current limitations, many districts who have to make up days find their students have to make up days on Saturdays or during their spring breaks.

“Another concern is alignment with community and university schedules. High school students in their junior and senior year often have the opportunity to take advantage of college and university classes, but when calendars do not align, this can cause major scheduling issues for students. Additionally, given the current limitations, students must complete first semester exams after their winter break. For many, breaks are spent worrying or fretting over exams and not enjoying time with family and friends. For others, the ‘break’ from instruction leads to deflated performance and disappointing grades.”

“We have to work together and develop strategies that work,” said Valita Quattlebaum, spokeswoman for New Hanover County Schools. “A few more days added to the calendar can make a huge impact in our ability to increase professional development for teachers and better support student achievement. In the long run, we all win with a better educated workforce for North Carolina.”

Currently there are six workdays on the calendar, many of them taken up with mandatory meetings, she said.

Allowing public schools to establish an academically sound calendar, the same flexibility afforded to charter schools, would put local boards of education in the best position to meet the specific needs of the students in their district, Smith said.

She noted that the N.C. Association of School Administrators 2015 Legislative Priorities included a statement that students learn best when the calendar is designed to enhance learning gains and retention, high school schedules mesh with university and college schedules and fall exams conclude before the winter break starts.

One thing New Hanover County educators have learned from the year-round school calendar, they said, is when students don’t have such a long break away from school, they don’t start to lose progress on their instruction. The frequent breaks also allow for less teacher and student burnout.

“We will be adding schools to the year-round calendar including Sunset Park, Snipes and Virgo Prep,” Quattlebaum said. Principals and families prepare for these schedule changes one to two years in advance.

Parents who have organized under the Save Our Summers-North Carolina (SOS-NC) banner present multiple reasons on their website for supporting later start dates, with the first being more family time.

Also listed were outside-the-classroom education [for students], summer jobs, daycare expenses being lower for summer activities, buses without air conditioning, scheduling for divorced families shared time, time for teacher continuing education and allowing time for second jobs for teachers to make ends meet. The group asserts that school boards should not be the ones making the decision about school calendars.

“When SOS-NC takes a stand for ‘local control,’ we are referring to the very grassroots meaning of the words: parents, students, teachers, etc.,” Louise Lee, one of the founders of SOS-NC, stated.

But it looks as if the legislature will not tackle the calendar issue this year.

“I’m not optimistic about it because of the time of year and that the Senate has absolutely dug in their heels,” Horn said.