The Board of Education agreed to apply for a waiver on the state’s 180-day requirement for students in order to schedule the third teacher furlough day before the end of the year, as mandated by the state.

October 1 was originally planned as an early release day for students and will now be a whole day off for students and the final furlough day for teachers.

RCPS faculty members took their first furlough day during preplanning in the last week of July. The second furlough day was scheduled for Oct.2, originally a faculty work day.

Gov. Sonny Perdue had ordered school systems to furlough teachers for three days and cut an additional 3 percent from their budgets.