PENDER COUNTY — The Pender County Board of Education chose the least popular calendar option for the 2027-2028 school year. The board decided to have school end in June and exams happen in January despite the community preferring school ending before Memorial Day and exams taking place prior to winter break.
The school board, with newly elected Jason Jordan, voted unanimously for the calendar option with the most time students will spend in school. The calendar will include 178 days of school for students, the last day set for June 8. Exams will take place in January.
The board went against a community survey with 66.9% preferring a calendar with 173 instructional days — the least amount of instructional hours — and an end date of May 26, December exams, 21 teacher workdays, and a spring break aligning with Good Friday.
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Instead, the board favored an academic calendar with a spring break aligned with Cape Fear Community College, more balanced semesters and maximum student instruction time. The board argued more instructional days would better equip students and balanced semesters would give students taking the same classes during different semesters comparable learning time.
“The more time on task the better students are going to do,” Superintendent Brad Breedlove said.
Chair Don Hall called it a “balanced deal.”
Teachers and the community wanted an option with an earlier end date to avoid spring burnout among students, according to survey comments. They also wanted to maintain December exams for students to retain information they learned from the semester, rather than taking around two weeks off and coming back to exams on what was taught in the fall.
Pender County Schools opened the survey Oct. 16 and closed it on the 31 with 1,132 people responding, of which 475 were schools staff members. Staff received the survey via email, though the district publicized on its social media. Three options were presented in the survey, chosen from five initial drafts shared with principals, staff and school improvement teams in March.
Aside from the top choice of 173 instructional days, a May 26 end date, and December exams, 27.8% picked 177 instructional days with students remaining in school through June 2. Falling last, 7.2% chose 179 instructional days and a June 9 end date. This was later changed by the board to be 178 instructional days and a June 8 end date, allowing for an additional teacher work day at the end of the year.
Per North Carolina General Statute 115C-84.2, traditional public school students cannot finish the academic year later than the Friday closest to June 11. The choice Pender County went with falls within the law, as the 2027-2028 academic year would have to end by June 9. Schools must also start no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26.
District spokesperson Bob Fankboner explained state rules require a 215-day calendar for teachers, including instructional days, holidays, annual leave days and teacher workdays. State law mandates at least two optional teacher workdays.
According to Fankboner, instructional days varied due to calendar options attempting to “balance the same 215-day framework in a different way.”
“Adding teacher workdays, changing the length of breaks, moving exams, ending school earlier or later and adding early-release days all affect how many full instructional days and hours are available,” he further explained.
Fankboner added while fewer instructional days give students less time with their teachers, it does not mean the calendar fails to meet state requirements. It stipulates a minimum of 1,025 instructional hours or 185 days over at least nine calendar months.
The calendar the board approved has 1,112.5 instructional hours. It also includes 13 bank days for emergencies, such as snow storms and the most instructional time out of all proposals.
However, it lacks two of the most frequently occurring priorities listed by staff and parents in the community survey: December exams and the school year ending prior to Memorial Day.
More than 90 survey comments expressed support for high school exams occurring in December prior to winter break. While December exams allow students to finish testing prior to winter break and holidays, pushing testing off to January lets the district have more balanced time between the fall and spring semesters.
Two of three calendar options included December exams; the board chose the only one with January as an option.
“Does anyone have any historical context as to how we got to doing these exams in January?” board member Jennifer Hansen asked.
Hall noted December exams have been the norm for the past several years post-Covid-19.
With December exams, the fall semester would have fewer days than the spring semester, with one option having an approximately 15-day semester imbalance.
Tom Reeves reasoned: “A kid taking a class in the fall is getting less instructional time in that same class as a kid in the spring.” He added “We’re caving into the parents who want December testing.”
He questioned whether there was data available on how students score when it comes to taking exams in December versus January.
Breedlove responded that schools who have exams in January still do well. The Department of Public Instruction does not dictate what month students should take exams, however, it does require end-of-course testing to occur within the last five days of the semester.
Additionally, more than 60 respondents wanted school to end before Memorial Day, on May 29. The community and staff wanted a May 26 end day, however, the board decided on the calendar with the latest last day of school.
It was a decision that board members knew would create pushback.
“I’ve never been here for a popularity contest, I’m here to do what’s right for these students,” Reeves, whose term expires in 2028, said. “I think we did the right thing here. I know it’s not a popular decision but I don’t care about getting elected. I was here to do a job.”
One reason Reeves supported the 178 instructional day calendar was due to teacher workdays being spread throughout the year. The draft proposed 16 total teacher workdays with eight occurring during the academic year. Three workdays were also scheduled directly after students leave, giving teachers time to complete grading.
The board’s decision was backed by Breedlove, who when asked what option he would choose, he concurred with the board’s analysis.
“I know it doesn’t sound, for some parents, like that’s the logical choice but I can assure you that the students do well on their exams,” Breedlove said. “It’s a balanced schedule.”
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