The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education wants to get more public input before members will consider taking Memorial Day off the list of inclement weather days.
Fred Black
“I interviewed leaders in every surrounding district,” said U.S. Army veteran Fred Black, a well-known Chapel Hill community leader. “And they were shocked, quite frankly, when they heard that you had school on Memorial Day. And one of the even went so far as like, ‘Well, that’s Chapel Hill.’ And that upsets me.’”
Thursday night’s work session at Lincoln Center wasn’t the first occasion for members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education to hear from Black about schools being open on Memorial Day during the 2013-14 year.
Black voiced similar outrage at the June 5, 2014 meeting. On May 23, he appeared on WCHL’s “The Commentators,” where he slammed what he called the “disrespectful” and “embarrassing” decision to use Memorial Day as a makeup day for inclement-weather closings.
“To say that bad weather this winter is the cause is disingenuous,” said Black, during his radio segment. “The cause is that the school board put Memorial Day on their list of makeup days in the first place. The staff that recommended this, and the board members that accepted it without comment should be ashamed.”
At Thursday’s meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Todd LoFrese recalled that the schedule was impacted 12 times by bad weather last year. Six school days were canceled. Delayed openings and early dismissals on six others accounted for 18 hours of lost instruction time.
“Due to all the inclement weather, we exhausted all of our designated days on the calendar last year,” he said.
That meant going back in the spring and modifying the calendar. Delayed opening days were canceled, and the school year was extended by as many days as the staff could identify. One of those was Memorial Day.
Black wasn’t the only person to contact the Board of Education to complain about the decision, and so the matter was reopened. It prompted a lengthy discussion about scheduling challenges, and what some board members called inflexible state parameters.
According to a state law passed in 2012, the school year must start no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26, and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Some exemptions are granted with waivers.
Board member Mia Burroughs suggested exploring different options to fit each year, in an effort to keep Memorial Day as a guaranteed school holiday.
“I do believe that we should try to change this away from Memorial Day,” she said.
But Board of Education Chair Jamezetta Bedford and other members said Memorial Day should remain a makeup day of last resort.
She said that less than 10 members of the public have complained about it.
Bedford also conceded that Memorial Day school openings are disrespectful to those who have served, and some who died, in the service of their country.
“But I am an Army brat,” said Bedford. “My four uncles all served. My dad served. My other two uncles served. My grandfather served and was gassed in World War I.
“So I wouldn’t intend to be disrespectful.”
She added that having classes on Memorial Day could actually present an opportunity to teach kids about sacrifices made for this country.
The matter was tabled until there’s more input from the public.
An agenda abstract for Thursday’s meeting includes a list of inclement weather options proposed by the CHCCS staff.
