The North Carolina General Assembly is once again attempting to give more leeway to local school districts with the school calendar year.

Legislators have tried passing similar changes in the past to no avail, but Dr. Don Phipps, superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, said he is hopeful the legislation will pan out.

Last Tuesday, the N.C. House of Representatives Education Committee approved two bills that would alter the calendar years in certain districts. House Bill 389 would allow 20 chosen counties from across the state to start school two weeks earlier for three years, with a study to follow. House Bill 375 would allow all districts to begin school as early as Aug. 15, in an attempt to align with colleges and universities.

N.C. law requires traditional schools to start the year no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26, ending no later than the Friday closest to June 11. All state schools must have at least 185 days or 1,025 instructional hours in one school year.

“We have very little leeway. Some of the waivers that were available in the past are no longer available,” Phipps said.

He said the stipulations on start and end dates can make it difficult for western counties that see a lot of snow to meet the instructional-hour threshold, or in Beaufort County’s case, flooding and damage from hurricanes.

Phipps said he asked if Beaufort could be one of the 20 chosen counties in HB 389, but was told they were already selected to represent all areas of the state.

Phipps is a longtime proponent of local school districts’ autonomy, especially when it comes to the calendar year.

“Every district has different needs. … They know what their needs are better than anyone else,” he explained. “We ought to be able to pick what works best for us.”

Phipps said the benefits of shifting the calendar outweigh the costs, as it would allow Beaufort County Schools students to complete end-of-semester exams before Christmas break, as well as align schedules with surrounding colleges.

“There’s not really anything new as far as reasoning behind it,” he said. “Every decision that we make there’s a cost and a benefit to it.”

One such cost would be the potential effects on the tourism industry, as starting school earlier in August would cut into family vacations during that month. Tourism officials have lobbied in the General Assembly to keep the school calendar as is for that reason.

Phipps said he thinks the first year of changes may cause an inconvenient time of transition, but subsequent years would run more smoothly, simply shifting the vacation season back.

HB 389 was referred back to the House Committee on Commerce and Job Development for further review, and HB 375 is on the calendar for discussion Wednesday.

“I’m excited about it because I feel like it’s finally promoting the local school districts to have local authority,” Phipps said. “All we have ever asked for is local flexibility.”