Students head back to school after holiday break today. They will receive report cards on Jan. 12, be released early on Jan. 13 and will be off on Jan. 16 for the MLK holiday.

Students will next be off in February for winter break (Feb. 23-24), then not again until spring break in April. With just four more months left of the school year, plenty is left to do for the school system who is working on approving several things with the 2011-12 school year in mind.

The NCSS is facing a tight budget with more potential cuts to come, the opening of new schools/programs and the expansion of the theme school, just to name a few.

The board's first work session of the year is at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10, followed by their meeting at the same time Jan. 17.