http://66.225.205.104/JR20110620.mp3
North Carolina public school students will spend five additional days studying next year, thanks to a provision in the recently-approved state budget. School districts are scrambling to respond. The kids may see it differently, but public school officials say they're happy to have students in class five extra days. The trouble is they're only now finding out the requirement was slipped into the budget bill. Cabarrus County Schools spokeswoman Ronnye Boone says they need a lot more lead-time to change the district calendar. "The lateness of this legislation is problematic," says Boone. "The calendar's been approved by the board, it's been published and publicized. It's what our schools are planning for and what our parents are planning for in terms of when school opens and when school closes and when school will be in session for their students." Spokeswomen at CMS and Gaston County Public Schools also point out the legislature did not give the districts any flexibility to actually lengthen the school year. State law requires August 25th be the first day and June 10th the last day. The additional five instruction days will have to come out of time scheduled for other purposes such as vacation or teacher workdays. Cabarrus County Schools has already applied for permission to delay implementing the calendar changes for one year. The budget bill does give room for the State Board of Education to grant such waivers, if districts can prove student performance won't suffer. A CMS spokeswoman says the district has not decided how it will handle the new requirement.