ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Buncombe County Schools has announced that schools will close for a teacher workday on Friday, May 1, the date of a statewide educator rally in Raleigh, N.C., citing safety concerns.
The school system had previously declared schools would remain open before more than 600 BCS staff members requested off work that Friday.
BCS relayed the decision through an email sent to employees around 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 23:
“The school system has been working to fill a growing number of teacher vacancies scheduled for May 1. We have been actively contacting our full roster of substitute teachers,” the email read. “In addition, we have had our superintendents, senior leadership, and dozens of other Central Services staff ready to fill teacher vacancies to maintain our instructional day for our students.
“By this afternoon, vacancies have grown to more than 600 staff members taking leave on May 1. Despite our best efforts to both support our teachers and our students, we are unable to safely operate our schools on Friday, May 1 as there will not be enough staff to teach and supervise students. Therefore, May 1 will no longer be a student day. The optional teacher workday from June 11 will move to May 1.”
In order to maintain instructional hour requirements, several calendar alterations have been proposed, including:
- Changing Tuesday, June 9 to be a full student day, instead of an early dismissal
- Changing Wednesday, June 10 to the last student day of the year, with a 2-hour early dismissal
- Changing Thursday, June 11 to a designated teacher workday
In the email, BCS stressed that “we value and support our teachers” and apologized for the inconvenience the calendar changes may cause families.
“We have worked to provide as much advance notice as possible and appreciate their flexibility as we prioritize the safety, well-being and continued learning of our students,” the email concluded.
BCS publicly announced the decision to families in a 6:33 p.m. Facebook post:
The decision follows Asheville City Schools’ announcement their schools would close the day of the rally, which was made in a letter to families earlier this week.
Educators will take part in the the Kids Over Corporations rally, organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators, in protest of state legislature limiting public school funding. The protest will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, May 1 at Halifax Mall in Raleigh. For more information, read our earlier story about the rally.
