Students in the Chapel City-Carrboro school district are in for a field day on March 8th — as district officials have made cancelled class due to a high level of expected teachers absences.
The district expected to have a lack of teachers, bus drivers, and cafeteria staff, local news source WRAL reported.
“Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools values and supports its female employees. However, the decision to close schools is not an endorsement of the planned demonstration,” said Jeff Nash, the district spokesman. “The decision is made solely to avoid operating school on a day when there are insufficient staff to provide instruction and basic school services.”
While staff and students will have the day off — all athletic events will be held as scheduled.
The Chapel Hill-Carraboro City school district is the only school district in America that appears to be canceling classes and giving their employees a pass on March 8th.
The strike, called “A Day Without Women” is organized by the same group behind the Women’s March in D.C, which drew roughly half a million people to D.C alone.
“On International Women’s Day, March 8th, women and our allies will act together for equity, justice and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity,” their website says.
They encourage people to join the strike by taking the day off from work, including “unpaid work,” avoiding shopping (with exceptions for small, women and minority-owned businesses) or to wear red in solidarity.
The organizers say they were inspired by other recent strike efforts, including the “Bodega strike” in New York City that was led by Yemeni immigrant store owners on February 2, and the “Day Without Immigrants” strike that happened on February 16.
