School boards across Western North Carolina are signing resolutions in support of flexibility and local control when it comes to school calendars. While this has been an issue for North Carolina public schools for many years, it is gaining traction again with new legislation introduced in the state senate.

Western Carolina University has announced plans for fall 2020 that include holding the first day of classes as scheduled on Monday, Aug. 17, eliminating the traditional fall break, moving final exams online and sending students home for the remainder of the semester prior to Thanksgiving.

North Carolina’s rigid school calendar law has been in place since 2004, but over the past few weeks, a pair of resolutions — one passed by the Haywood School Board, the other by Haywood County Commissioners — have again expressed a desire for changes in the “one size fits all” calendar. 

North Carolina is a huge state with tremendous climactic, economic and geographic diversity, but after a wicked bout of weird weather, including hurricanes in the mountains and blizzards on the beaches, the state’s one-size-fits all school calendar law still leaves many western counties singing the summertime blues.