Lawmakers respond possible changes for year-round schools

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Year-round schools in New Hanover County might be in for some changes, that is if the State Senate has its way.

Parents have started a petition, gathering more than 100 signatures from people who want to keep year-round schools in New Hanover County. Yesterday, parents at Codington Elementary received a letter saying their year-round schedule might become a traditional one. But State Senator Michael Lee said parents shouldn’t worry.

“It was never really intended to impact New Hanover County Schools, so to the extent there’s any ambiguity, we’re going to just go ahead and fix that next week,” Lee said.

The senate’s proposed budget includes a new definition for year-round schools that only allows for multi-track, when students’ schedules are staggered , and not single-track when their schedules are together.

Representative Susi Hamilton said she believes the wording will soon be changed, but if not, she will fight against it.

“It’s troubling that this sort of thing gets slipped into the budget that has such a broad, sweeping policy effect,” Hamilton said.