School leaders in Cumberland County defend decision to close schools Friday

Officials made the announcement just before 6:30 a.m., marking the sixth day since Christmas break that classes have been canceled due to weather.

With Cumberland County getting only about an inch of snow on Wednesday, many wondered why the closure was necessary.

Superintendent Tim Kinlaw says, for logistical reasons, it's best to cancel classes for everybody.

"It just makes it complicated when you go to make up. You still have to have all your support staff in here to support them, so really it's just better for us to do all or nothing," he said.

As of Friday morning, some back roads in the Cape Fear and Pine Forest areas were still iced over.

Kathy Sovine, a fourth-grade teacher at Baldwin Elementary School, decided to work, as Friday was an optional work day for teachers.

"I know, just based on the text massages I'm getting from other teachers, the younger teachers are getting rather frustrated. They don't quite see the whole big picture of everything," she said.

Katherine Kropp's students at Terry Sanford High School were supposed to be taking exams this week.

"When you do come back, you have to remind the students what we went over," she said. "The workload becomes more about refreshing than actually teaching anything at that point."