Guilford County Schools has asked the state to expand remote learning day allocations and provide emergency funding for critical materials like road salt and ice melt.  

Crews, including contractors, maintenance staff, transportation staff and student nutrition services staff have been working around the clock since January 25, working to clear campuses so they’ll be safe for students and staff to return.  

The team has:  

• Spread more than 300,000 pounds of salt and more than 10,000 gallons of brine; 

• Received emergency supplies from NCDOT; 

• Asked for community support to donate salt and ice melt to the GCS maintenance depot on Naco road in Greensboro; 

• Worked in close partnership with local municipalities and NCDOT to share information about road clearance; and 

• Triaged HVAC and plumbing issues at schools. 

“The safety and wellbeing of students and staff is the district’s top priority and instruction must be able to continue,” Superintendent Oakley said. 

State law does allow up to five remote days to be counted towards the mandated 1,025 hours of instruction. In 2023, Guilford County Schools (GCS) returned to a 180-day school calendar with a priority of preserving instructional time to help students recover from learning loss resulting from the pandemic, beginning with the 2023-24 school year.  The GCS 2025-2026 school calendar exceeds the state requirement by 55 hours. 

It is important to note that state law does not prohibit districts from using additional remote learning days over the five state-approved days. It just does not allow the additional remote learning days over five to count towards the state-required instructional hours. Under N.C. General Statute §115C-84.2, the State Board of Education has authority to provide flexibility during emergency conditions, and the district requested legislative action so GCS and districts across the state can have the certainty needed for long-term planning. You can read the full letter to legislators here.