****UPDATE: After hearing lengthy public comment, the CHCCS Board of Education voted Thursday night to close the district on Wednesday, May 16, to allow teachers to participate in the Day of Advocacy. The day will be an optional teacher workday. The vote was 6-0. Board member James Barrett was out of the country and missed the meeting.****

Some Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools teachers are planning to take personal leave on May 16 to participate in a Day of Advocacy as the North Carolina General Assembly reconvenes for the short legislative session. As of Thursday afternoon, the number of teachers requesting leave has not grown to a level where the district would have to close school for the day.

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted 6-1 on Wednesday night to close schools across the district on May 16 due to the high number of teachers planning to participate in lobbying state legislators. The AP is reporting more than 1,000 DPS teachers were planning on taking leave before the district voted to close for the day.

The advocacy effort is being organized and promoted by the North Carolina Association of Educators and comes after teacher strikes have taken place in some other states battling for teacher pay raises and higher education funding.

An internal message sent from a CHCCS assistant superintendent to principals across the district said that “several of you have asked us for guidance on how best to handle personal leave requests.”

“We fully support our employee’s 1st amendment rights and their right to express political views,” the message reads, “however we must remember that our professional obligation is to our students.” The memo goes on to say that the district “will be holding school on May 16.”

District policy says that the school board “will limit or discourage participation in community activities, including political activities and public speaking, only if such participation could cause either considerable interference with the activities of the school district or substantial interference with the employee’s ability to function effectively in the school district.”

The concern expressed over the May 16 events focuses on having enough personnel to safely operate the schools.

“High absenteeism threatens our ability to meet our obligations,” according to the internal message. It adds, “Principals may deny the use of personal leave if there is not a substitute teacher available.”

The district Board of Education is scheduled to meet in regular session Thursday night with some teachers expected to address the topic during the public comment session.

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