Calendar Survey Questions Answers 1.11 - Gaston County Schools

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS: CALENDAR SURVEY
Drafts: 2011-12; 2012-13
Q1. Has the calendar law been changed so that school can start before August
25?
A1. No, the calendar law that was passed in 2004 is still in effect. School can’t
start before August 25.
Q2. Why does school start in the middle of the week for 2011-12? Can school
start the following Monday, August 29?
A2. Because, August 25 falls on a Thursday, and we aren’t allowed by General
Statute §115C-84.2 to start before that date. If you wait to start school on
Monday, August 29, then you lose two days in creating a calendar. Also, we
have to end on June 8, since June 10 is on Sunday. Starting after August 25
would risk not being able to end at the required time.
Q3. Why can’t the first semester end before Christmas?
A3. A semester is comprised of 90 instructional days. With school starting on or
after August 25, including the required holidays, and workdays in the
calendar, it isn’t possible to complete 90 days by Christmas.
Q4. Why can’t January 19 in 2011-12 be a snow make-up day?
A4. It is a day in school for students and staffs.
Q5. Why can’t students be off the full week before Christmas in either
calendar?
A5. It would require taking days off from other areas. A question the Calendar
Committee had to keep revisiting was, “Are we willing to take days from
the Easter/Spring break for a longer Christmas break?” To create longer
breaks at Christmas or Easter requires taking days from other places in the
calendar.
Q6. Can Martin Luther King be an optional workday?
A6. No, we aren’t able to make holidays optional workdays.
Q7. Does Spring/Easter break have to be around Easter? Can it be earlier or
later?

A7. We tried having Spring/Easter break later in the 2007-08 school year,
because Easter came early in 2008; however, there were many complaints
about it. So, we have not tried it like that since.
Q8. Can Martin Luther King Day be a snow make-up day like the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools used it?
A8. We are able to use any holiday, except Veterans Day, as a make-up day.
We follow the state holiday list. If we opted to use holidays as make-up
days, we would need to designate all of them and not single out one.
Q9. Why is there a workday at the end of a grading period? Why are there
protected workdays at the beginning and end of the school year? Can’t
they be moved next to other workdays to create more time for teacher
paperwork?
A9. The calendar law specifies that protected teacher workdays must come at
the beginning of the school year; at the end of the school year; and, one
after each grading period. Placement of these days isn’t optional.
Q10. Why can’t the school system build in snow days like the northern states’
school systems?
A10. The calendar law doesn’t allow NC school systems to build in snow days.
We must use teacher workdays and annual leave days for make-up days.
Q11. I think there are too many days off. Why not eliminate them so that school
ends on or before Memorial Day?
A11. The calendar law requires that we have designated holidays; mandated
teacher workdays; protected teacher workdays; annual leave days; and,
optional teacher workdays. We aren’t permitted to eliminate them.
Q12. Why could we make-up a day on President’s Day but not on holidays like
Martin Luther King Day?
A12. President’s Day isn’t a holiday in North Carolina for state employees.
Q13. In the 2011-12 calendar, why is April 6 a holiday instead of April 9?
A13. We follow the state holiday list, which denotes Good Friday as a holiday
instead of Easter Monday.

Q14. Why doesn’t the school system exercise a waiver process for when school
starts?
A14. Waivers that have been approved by the Dept. of Public Instruction are
based on a number of inclement weather days over a period of time. Our
school system doesn’t meet the qualifications, like the mountain counties.
Q15. What happens to these calendars if the Legislature changes the calendar
law?
A15. The Calendar Committee will reconvene to revise calendars as directed by
legislation.
Q16. Why aren’t all teacher workdays mandatory?
A16. Because the calendar law specifies a set number of workdays as optional.
Q17. Why does Christmas break get shorter and shorter?
A17. Including all school days off, the following chart shows the number of days
off over the last 5 years and how the number of days off have varied:
School Year Days Off at Christmas Break
10-11 8
09-10 10
08-09 10
07-08 8
06-07 7
Q18. Why haven’t we used Saturdays for make-up days?
A18. Many of our employees have second jobs that require Saturday work. Also,
a large number of our students have jobs where they work on Saturdays.
Q19. Why isn’t April 1 in the 2012-13 calendar a make-up day before April 4?
A19. The Calendar Committee discussed this, and previous Calendar Committees
have discussed using Easter Monday as a make-up day. Many families have
asked the Calendar Committee through the years to protect Easter
Monday, which is what we have done.
Q20. Why do make-up days in April in both calendars back-up, i.e., 4, 3, 2, 1,
instead of starting at the beginning of the week?

A20. Because Good Friday is a holiday, the Calendar Committee felt that if
Easter/Spring days must be used for make-up, at least employees and
families will have a long weekend starting with Good Friday and continuing
with the first part of the following week. For example, if Easter Monday is a
make-up day, students and employees would be off Good Friday and have
to return on Monday and possibly face being in and out if the remainder of
the week has to be used for make-up days.
Q21. Do you realize there are 10 weeks from the January workday until March 29
and that there are 8 weeks from April 5 until Memorial Day in the 2012-13
calendar? Can’t there be workdays somewhere within those timespans?
A21. Having workdays during the dates indicated in the question will cause
school to end after June 10, which is against the calendar law. There are
several variables in the 2012-13 calendar that created challenges:
a. School can’t start until August 27, because the 25 th falls on Saturday. In
previous calendars, we’ve been able to start on August 25. So, in the
2012-13, we lost 2 days of “wiggle room” in placing workdays.
b. 2012 is a Presidential election year. Many of schools are used as polls,
requiring us to relinquish an instructional day. This causes the 3 rd lost
day.
c. When Christmas falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the
calendar law requires school systems to award 3 holidays in December.
In 2012, Christmas falls on a Tuesday. While it’s not a lost day like “a”
and “b” above, it does impact the placement of annual leave days.
Q22. Why is Veterans Day being observed on Monday, November 12, 2012?
Can’t it be moved to Friday, November 9?
A22. In 2012, Veterans Day falls on Sunday. However, the Federal Government
is observing it Monday, November 12.