Lawsuit could set precedent on school districts’ calendars in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE — School is out but districts in North Carolina are already looking ahead to the first day in August, but that exact date is different depending on your district.

Several districts across our area are defying state law and starting before the mandated Aug. 26 date.

A lawsuit on the coast could be a precedent for districts in our area.

David Bolden, a Belmont grandfather of 20 and a former educator, said he has no issue with school districts, including Gaston County, which is starting the school year two weeks earlier than most others.

“Do anything and everything that may benefit a child, and going back to school early to me is an absolutely positive thing,” he said.

The district is violating a state law that specifically says Aug. 26 is the earliest start date.

However, the future for districts that choose to call bluff on that state law could be uncertain.

In March, parents who own businesses in the tourism industry filed the suit saying they rely on the school calendar law to plan and run their businesses, as well as to plan the year for their families.

A judge agreed with them, in part.

He told the Carteret County School Board they cannot start sooner than what the law allows.

“We feel like we’re getting held hostage,” a school board member said. “There’s a small little group of few that are controlling what we can do.”

Late last week, the school board responded with a vote to appeal the judge’s ruling.

“There is no budging whatsoever from some of the tourism industry, and I think that’s really hurting us,” the board members said. “That’s why so many counties and so many school systems across the state have chosen to defy the calendar law.”

Nine school districts in our area will be starting this upcoming school year earlier than state law allows.

Ashe, Watauga, and Rowan-Salisbury school districts have exceptions from the Department of Public Instruction.

Meanwhile, Iredell-Statesville, Kannapolis City, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln school districts are all going during the week of Aug. 12.

Some legal experts theorize the school board’s appeal could end up in appellate court, which could end all illegal calendars across the state.

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