Another Charlotte-area school district cancels classes for May 1 rally in Raleigh

Gaston County Schools is canceling classes Friday due to a high number of teachers who plan to participate in a march for higher school funding in Raleigh.

At least 13 of the state’s 115 school districts have canceled classes for May 1 due to the rally. With the Monday evening announcement, Gaston County Schools became the latest local district, in addition to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Kannapolis City Schools and Mooresville Graded School District, to cancel classes for the day.

Instead, the district will have an optional teacher workday on May 1.

Educators from around the state plan to gather outside the capitol in Raleigh Friday, demanding more state investment in public education. The rally is organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators.

A new report released on April 27 ranked North Carolina 46th in the nation in teacher pay and per-pupil spending.

Gaston County Schools decided to cancel classes Friday due to the number of planned absences, GCS Superintendent Morgen Houchard said in a Facebook post Monday.

“We have been closely monitoring the effect of this on our schools and have determined that we will not have enough substitutes and central office personnel to cover adequately,” Houchard said. “We are grateful for the work our teachers do each day and recognize that they are the most important factor in providing high-quality teaching and learning.”

GCS employees are headed to Raleigh to protest as GCS faces its own financial woes. Houchard went to Gaston County commissioners at the end of March for an emergency $10 million bailout to avoid as many as 400 layoffs before the school year’s end. The school system still laid off 175 employees earlier this month.

This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 2:17 PM.