Union County defied state’s calendar law. Now, parents are suing the school system.
A pair of Union County parents want a court to stop the school system from enforcing a 2023-24 calendar that defies state law.
Dominique Morrison, owner of Honeysuckle Riding Academy in Monroe, and Francis Ward filed suit Monday in Union County Superior Court against the Union County Board of Education for adopting a calendar that starts school earlier than what state law allows for the 2023-24 school year. They’re represented by attorney Mitch Armbruster of Raleigh.
Board members, who are named individually in the complaint, voted unanimously in December to make Aug. 9 the first day of school. But North Carolina’s calendar law requires most districts to wait until late August to bring students back.
“These parents are asking for the school board to follow the law,” Armbruster, of the Smith Anderson Law Firm, told The Charlotte Observer on Monday. “We want a judge and injunction to stop the calendar.”
Union County, the sixth-largest district by student population, is the largest in the state to defy state law, which states districts can’t start earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Even if a waiver is approved, the start date can’t be earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19, according to state law.
The requirement is meant to protect the tourism industry, but it’s unpopular among many school districts. An earlier start would allow educators to give first semester exams before winter break, proponents say. At the time of the vote in December, Superintendent Andrew Houlihan told board members he received positive feedback on the plan.
But the adoption of the calendar was an “intentional violation of the law,” the complaint alleges. Parents also complained that they were not told in advance of the early start option.
“The actions of the Board’s members could even constitute a criminal misdemeanor which may subject them to removal from office. … Local boards of education are not free to pick and choose which laws they want to follow,” the complaint states.
Union County Public Schools spokesperson Tahira Stalberte told the Observer school board members “had no comments at this time” on the complaint.
Calendar change impacts local businesses
Both Morrison and Ward have children who attend Union County Public Schools, according to the complaint.
Morrison told the Observer on Monday she runs horse-riding summer camps and has for more than 20 years. She derives a large part of her revenue from offering services to school-age children and was heartbroken about the decision to start three weeks earlier.
“August is such a huge month for me,” she said. “I don’t charge an arm and a leg for lessons. I pour my heart and soul into the children and these horses. I make it so parents can afford riding. My camps support this farm, but they also offset costs for parents to send kids to riding lessons.”
Morrison says she’ll lose $30,000 in revenue with the loss of three weeks in August. School board members thought about beach tourism when changing the calendar but forgot about “us in Union County,” she said.
Morrison and Ward also allege school board members are setting a poor example for students.
“Despite being illegal, the Board is now telling students and parents that they must report for school on August 9, 2023, three weeks earlier than allowed by State law. ... Even if the Board disagrees with the law, and even if the Board advocates for changes in the law, it must follow the law as written while it is effective,” the complaint states.
The complaint also states “under the criminal laws of this State, the willful failure of a ‘school board member’ to follow the law is a criminal Class 1 misdemeanor under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-230, which can be punishable by removal from office by order of the Court.”
No ramifications
Districts are standing up against the state law, passed in 2004, partly because it’s not clear whether there are ramifications. This year, three districts near Charlotte started school early: Gaston, Cleveland and Rutherford counties. The Cabarrus County School Board this year unanimously approved an early start to the 2023-24 year. Rowan-Salisbury Schools has a special status that allows it to start early.
Allison Schafer, general counsel to the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction, says the state board does not have a written policy for what to do if a district does not comply with calendar laws. The calendar law itself does not provide for any sanction, so officials are limited in their enforcement authority, she said.
“All of us have to follow the law,” Morrison said. “Some of the laws we don’t like but we still follow them. The fact that a school board went against the law it’s so wrong.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 5:37 PM.
