CHARLOTTE — Democratic Charlotte State Senators DeAndrea Salvador, Joyce Waddell, and Mujtaba Mohammad are pushing for calendar flexibility for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
In an interview with Channel 9, CMS Board member Lisa Cline thanked the three senators for leading the effort. Current state law mandates CMS start the Monday closest to August 26. The bill would allow CMS to align its calendar with Central Piedmont Community College.
Cline says the move would benefit students. She says the current school calendar requires them to take midyear exams after winter break.
“They’ve had a couple of weeks off, and they’re not in school mode. Then they have to take exams,” she said. “It also puts a damper on the winter holiday because, ‘Oh, Mom, Dad, I’ve got to study. I can’t go away. I have to do this.’”
However, North Carolina’s influential tourism industry is strongly opposed to the calendar change because it cuts into summer vacation.
“NCTIA supports families who want to spend time together during the summer break,” North Carolina Tourism Industry Association Executive Director Vince Chelena said. “Many want to use that time to visit family, attend summer camps, and go on vacation. August is the second busiest travel month for visitors in North Carolina, second only to July. Charlotte families want to travel during the hottest months of the year. Many head to the beaches or mountains to escape the 100-degree heat.”
Cline says she doesn’t buy that excuse.
“Look, I go to the beach a lot during the summertime,” she said. “Tourism by the second week of August, it’s beginning to die down. College kids are already in college because our colleges start in August.”
Zelda and Kenny Perry say a calendar change would be better for their grandchildren academically.
“Vacation is already hard for them, so when they go back to school, they are not going to have (their knowledge) up there,” Zelda Perry said.
About 25 percent of schools don’t follow North Carolina’s calendar law, according to a 2024 state analysis. Many of these school boards choose to defy it. Union County’s attempts to defy the calendar law in 2023 prompted a lawsuit. Union County ultimately backed down.
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