Some NC schools will close May 1 due to NCAE mass teacher protest in Raleigh
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- Some North Carolina districts canceled classes May 1 due to planned NCAE teacher protest.
- Chatham County changed its calendar after 213 teachers requested May 1 off.
- Districts differed: Guilford made May 1 optional, New Hanover rejected moving a workday.
Some North Carolina school districts are canceling classes on May 1 because they say so many teachers are planning to take May Day off to participate in a mass protest in Raleigh.
The North Carolina Association of Educators is encouraging teachers to call out of work on May 1 to march on the Legislative Building in Raleigh to lobby for more state funding for public education. In response, some districts such as Chatham County are closing schools on May 1 and several other districts considering a schedule change as well.
“The North Carolina Association of Educators is in fact planning a day of action for teachers to advocate and to find voice and use their voice to advocate professionally across the state,” Chatham County Superintendent Anthony Jackson told the school board before this week’s vote to change the calendar.
“It’s a very difficult decision to have to make at this point of the year. But we were in a really, really good position in terms of calendar and so tonight I’d ask the board to consider a modification to our calendar to allow those teachers who wish to participate to do so.”
Similar decisions were made by many school systems for May 16, 2018, and May 1, 2019, when thousands of teachers marched in NCAE-organized protests in Raleigh.
“At a time when teachers should be preparing their students for critical exams, they’re instead keeping kids out of their classrooms,” Lauren Horsch, a spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, said in a statement Thursday. “Changing a school calendar to capitulate to the far-left teachers union does nothing but harm the very students they claim to want to help.”
Here’s a look at what some of North Carolina’s 115 school districts are doing about May 1:
Chatham County
On Monday, the Chatham County school board voted to make May 1 an annual leave day, meaning schools are closed for employees and students. The board turned May 22 — the Friday before Memorial Day — from an annual leave day into a school day.
Under state law, school districts are required to provide school employees with at least 10 annual leave vacation days each school year.
The school board made the change after Jackson said the district had already received requests from 213 teachers to take off May 1. That’s nearly a third of the district’s teachers.
Jackson told the board that making the calendar change now will eliminate the need for last-minute closures or an emergency adjustment to the schedule.
“It will provide certainty to our families and staff well in advance so that changes can be made,” Jackson said.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposal from staff to make May 1 a teacher workday.
“May 1 is recognized as ‘MayDay Strong,’ a statewide day of advocacy for public school educators,” according to the presentation from staff. “Many districts including CHCCS are experiencing a notable increase in teacher absences on this date, and we anticipate that trend to continue. Converting the day to a (teacher workday) will allow the district to plan proactively and not have massive class coverage issues across the district.”
Administrators say they can use “banked hours” to cover May 1 so that students won’t have to make the day up. All schools have a limited amount of extra time built into their schedules to stay above the state requirement of at least 1,025 hours of instruction each school year.
If the change is approved, school buildings will remain open May 1 for staff who want to report to work.
Durham Public Schools
No calendar changes have been made or proposed yet in Durham Public Schools. But Superintendent Anthony Lewis said that district employees have already begun submitting leave requests for May 1.
“We are considering a number of options but we do not have a formal recommendation yet,” Lewis said in a statement Wednesday. “We will communicate with staff and families once a decision is made so that everyone may plan accordingly. What is happening at the state level is unacceptable and those who unfortunately suffer the most are our scholars.”
Lewis said that public education is under attack in North Carolina. Durham has been among the school districts who say the state needs to increase support for public schools.
Wake County
May 1 was already a teacher workday for traditional-calendar schools in Wake County before the NCAE protest was announced. Wake is North Carolina’s largest school district and is where Raleigh is located.
The traditional calendar is used by the majority of Wake’s 203 schools. But many schools — such as those on a year-round calendar, modified calendar and early colleges — are scheduled to have classes on May 1.
School officials did not immediately have figures Thursday on how many teachers have requested May 1 off. But the district could potentially get enough substitute teachers to cover classrooms because they won’t be needed at traditional-calendar schools.
Other Triangle school districts
Kevin Smith, a spokesperson for Orange County Schools, said the district is monitoring its numbers. But at this time, Smith said they’re not seeing high numbers of teachers requesting May 1 off.
Richard Carr, a Johnston County schools spokesperson, said he didn’t know how many teachers have requested May Day off.
Guilford schools closing, New Hanover is not
School districts across North Carolina are considering what to do with classes on May 1.
On Tuesday, the Guilford County school board voted to make May 1 an optional teacher workday. Guilford is North Carolina’s third-largest school district.
In contrast, the New Hanover County school board rejected on Tuesday a request from Superintendent Chris Barnes to move a May 4 teacher workday to May 1. Barnes had cited concerns about ahaving enough staff to cover schools.
“The idea that we would even consider adjusting our calendar to accommodate politically motivated protest is deeply troubling,” school board member Josie Barnhart said at the specially called board meeting. “It sends the message that political pressure is more important than educating students.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:51 PM.
