The vote was 5-2, with Board members Stephanie Walker and Melissa Mason dissenting.
The winning calendar option ends the semester in January, which was unpopular with some teachers and parents.
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However, the other calendar option, which did end the semester in December, would make the semesters unequal by 19 days.
Board member Josie Barnhart said unbalanced semesters would be unfair to teachers and contribute to learning loss.
“At large, it’s going to be the biggest disconnect with our already lowest learners," she said.
Support for the uneven calendar partly stemmed from wanting to align with community college calendars, so high schoolers in dual enrollment wouldn’t have issues.
Parents also voiced concerns that students had trouble remembering class instruction from December for their exams in January.
District staff said Cape Fear Community College was willing to work with them to address any issues that arise for dual enrollment students.
The board will discuss calendars for non-traditional schools, such as year-round, at the next board meeting.