Schools postpone survey of parents on year-round calendar

Craven County schools officials have decided to postpone surveying parents about year-round calendars until the state Supreme Court decides whether systems have the authority to set such a schedule.

The Craven system operates on three schedules - most schools on a traditional calendar, three Havelock schools on a year-round calendar and Craven Early College on another schedule. The Craven County Board of Education had concerns last year about some parents in Havelock having trouble with their children being on multiple calendars.

When the board adopted a 2008-09 year-round calendar Dec. 13 for pupils at Arthur W. Edwards and Havelock elementaries and Tucker Creek Middle School, it also unanimously voted to survey parents before voting for next year's calendars.

"The issue is not whether year-round calendars are good or bad or whether traditional calendars are good or bad," said Carr Ipock, the board chairman. "The issue is the potential for an added hardship if a parent has children on two or more tracks."

The board decided during a work session Monday to postpone sending the survey forms.

Wake County schools have been weighing calendar options to deal with growth in the area, Ipock said. An original law said that systems had the authority to set different calendars, he said.

But a more recent state law put restrictions on when a school can begin and end a year, said Annette Brown, Craven's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Ipock said an appeals court recently ruled 3-0 that systems have the authority to set their own calendars. He said the Supreme Court will now look at the case, and it may be six to nine months before it gives a ruling.

Craven County schools' calendar questionnaire was ready to be sent, said Anetta Davenport, the director of public relations. The form asks parents which calendars they have children on, what calendar they prefer and whether they want to change calendars, Davenport said. The survey was only an attempt to gather information, and it would not have affected the calendar until the 2009-10 year, she said.

"But when the question is open, it's almost like a mandate you can't do anything," Carr Ipock said. "Sending out a survey about a calendar we don't know if we can change gives a false hope or a false distress. We're waiting to get a Supreme Court answer. The guess is that they will confirm the appeals ruling."