School board passes 2021-22 calendars, resolution connected to new superintendent

ELIZABETHTOWN — The Board of Education for Bladen County Schools met in regular session on Monday evening.

• What happened: The 2021-22 school calendar was passed for Bladen County Schools, and for the Bladen Early College High School.

• Why it matters: The early college is allowed flexibility to be in line with Bladen Community College’s calendar. The first day will be Aug. 16 and classes will end on May 26, 2022.

The traditional public schools will get in exams before Christmas, as was the case this year. To do so, the calendar splits into 80 days before Christmas and 100 after the holidays. Students get a full week out before Christmas, which this year is on a Saturday.

The first day is Aug. 23. Graduations are June 10, 2022, with East Bladen in the morning and West Bladen in the afternoon.

• What they said: Interim Superintendent Dr. Jason Atkinson, who officially removes the “interim” tag on Monday, advised the board the school calendar must be passed by April 1. And it is subject to any legislation by the General Assembly.

He said at this time, there are no pending bills but he reminded the lawmakers do remain in session.

• Closed session: The board went into closed session, and emerged to pass action on a personnel item list that was not made available to the public. It also passed a resolution related to Atkinson’s hire and experience.

Before going into the session, Chairman Roger Carroll said the board needed to talk about “the Carter lawsuit.”