ELIZABETHTOWN — Hurricane Matthew put the school calendar in disarray for many districts in Eastern North Carolina, including Bladen County. But on Monday, the school board tackledthe issue.

North Carolina school systems have the option of either 1,025 hours or 180 days of instruction for students, and Bladen County opted for the hours. When Hurricane Matthew came through, students lost nine days of instruction, six of which must be made up — the other three had already been built into the calendar.

“I know what I’m going to say is not going to be popular,” began Superintendent Robert Taylor, “but we must make sure we have a calendar that meets 1,025 hours.”

After changing Oct. 31, Jan. 26 and June 12-16 to school days, student days will be compensated. Teacher workdays will be changed to Feb. 6 and June 19-21, and graduation for both East Bladen and West Bladen will be moved to June 17.

Any additional days missed from this point forward will have to be made up on Saturdays or with additional time built into the school day.

On a related note, the board also heard about a new school improvement tool, NCStar. The web-based tool has 105 success indicators, out of which schools are required to have 12 active. Once the school improvement plan is entered, school personnel are notified if a deadline passes, if information needs updating, or if a meeting is missed.

“There are active coaches from the state overseeing the whole thing, so this isn’t an improvement plan that’s just going to sit on a shelf,” said Elizabethtown Middle School Principal Elizabeth Cole, whose school has already been implementing the tool. “The system itself holds you accountable.”

The five schools designated as low performing in Bladen County will be required to implement the tool, and all other schools will begin using it next year.

“This looks like a very promising thing,” said chairman Wilbur Smith.

In other action, the board:

— Recognized the district’s CTE program as the highest in the state with regard to the percentage of students who earn credentials. A total of 1,530 credentials were earned in programs like hunter safety, Microsoft PowerPoint, and CPR.

— Approved changes to the budget to reflect a .5 percent bonus for state employees not on the teaching salary schedule. Taylor conjectured the bonus provided by the state was likely given to employees who didn’t see the raise given to employees on the salary schedule. He also noted it would cover all employees at the central office, as well as employees like maintenance crews. Taylor volunteered to opt out of the bonus himself so that the money could be spread around to other employees.

— Approved a supplement for football assistant coaches. The stipend would cover one coach at each school and would be paid out of the school’s funds. The change was requested in order to bring uniformity to football programs while encouraging dedication from the coaches.

— Recognized Allen’s Tire of Tar Heel as a partner in education. Taylor noted the company’s donation of classroom resources, provision of breakfast and lunch for staff, and general assistance as needed.

The next meeting of the Board of Education will be Monday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Central Office.

Chrysta Carroll can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

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By Chrysta Carroll

ccarroll@civitasmedia.com