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GREENSBORO - Spring break is safe, but are school officials?

The Guilford County school board voted 8-3 in favor of keeping snow makeup days at end of the school year despite a letter from the state Department of Public Instruction this week informing the school system that if it held classes after June 10 it would not be in compliance with state law.

Students are scheduled to make up lost days on June 11, 12 and 15.

The vote came after a 90-minute closed session meeting on the matter and another hour of debate in open session.

School board attorney Jill Wilson said state law is too vague on the matter.

"There's no clear guidance on the statute," Wilson said. She added the state has not issued the same letter to other area school systems operating on similar calendars, including Rockingham County, which Wilson also represents - and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.

The state statute provides that, "A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or instructional time."

Issues included under "good cause" for revisions include inclement weather.

Several motions were made, remade, failed and withdrawn before the board agreed on the motion. The motion to leave the makeup days as they are failed originally but won after board members Deena Hayes and Carlvena Foster changed their votes to support it.

Board Chairman Alan Duncan, Vice Chairman Amos Quick and board member Sandra Alexander voted against the motion. They argued that if having makeup days is truly about making up lost education then the makeup days should occur before the end of course exams. Makeup days, as scheduled by the board in the fall, that would meet this criteria would be the last three days of spring break — April 15-17.

Duncan said the school system finds itself in the position because the Department of Public Instruction supported a bill pushed by tourism lobbyists that restricted school calendars.

"DPI supported that, DPI did that. DPI is not looking out for our students," Duncan said.

Paul LeSieur, DPI's School Business Department director, said school boards can extend the school year beyond June 10 if they have no other options.

Board member Jeff Belton questioned LeSieur's authority to even write the letter, calling it an "illegitimate opinion."

Students currently are not scheduled for class on March 30, a teacher workday, April 13-17, for spring break, and May 25, Memorial Day. LeSieur said students also can attend class on Saturday.

"I don't think Saturday is going to be a viable option," said Mark Jewell, president of the Guilford County Association of Educators.

Jewell said Saturday is a day of worship for several faiths and many teachers work second jobs on the weekend. He said he sees little option other than taking days from spring break.

Should the school system decide not to comply it would be the first incidence of this, according to LeSieur. The ramifications of which aren't clear.

"We've not had a school district that's not complied, but if they did (not comply) we'd have to take that to the state board," LeSieur said.

LeSieur said Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and McDowell County Schools are being presented with the same letter as well as a third school system he could not recall.

The board also voted to reconsider next year’s school calendar and to ask local legislators to introduce a bill to allow Guilford schools to start earlier in the year.

In other news:

- Information technologies employees with Guilford County Schools are the first on the chopping block as Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green prepares for a lean budget year while simultaneously rolling out his strategic plan.

Tech professionals learned Monday that their department will be cut from 14 employees to five under the organizational plan.

Tijuana Hayes, Guilford County Association of Educators vice president, told the board to "be considerate" when making cuts during the budget process. Later, Hayes said tech employees were told to apply for positions, as the criteria for them will change.

- The board also voted 8-3 to support the superintendent's plan to create regional superintendents who will be responsible for schools in a designated geographic region and one achievement region made up of 10 low-performing schools.

The vote also requires the superintendent to return with two recommendations for how those regional lines should be drawn and what schools they'll include so the board could then vote on which they wanted.

Green, and some board members, believed it was in his authority to make this decision. Duncan, Hayes and Paul Daniels voted against the motion.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com.