Statement from Ashley-Michelle Thublin, executive direct of communications, Asheville City Schools:
During tonight’s Asheville City Board of Education Meeting, it was decided that Asheville City Schools will be closed for all students on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. It will be an Optional Teacher Workday.
To make up instructional time for this, and also for a recent delayed opening due to water issues, school days will be extended by 18 minutes beginning April 29th through Tuesday, June 4th.
This means our elementary schools will dismiss at 2:48 PM, and our middle and high schools will end at 3:48 PM, beginning next Monday, April 29th through Tuesday, June 4th.
There is a rally scheduled in Raleigh, NC on May 1st where educator advocates can support efforts for a pay increase, classroom resources, more per pupil expenditure and school safety.
Because we anticipate more teacher leave requests on May 1st than we can cover with substitute teachers, we made the decision to make May 1st an Optional Teacher Workday and to close schools for all students on May 1st.
This decision was not made lightly. We know that any calendar modification impacts our families. On May 1st, our teachers are not taking the day off but instead are advocating for the future of public education. On behalf of the Board of Education, we value all of our teachers and appreciate all that they do for our students, schools, and community.
No school system should be spending $16,000 per head and no school system should have a ‘foundation’ to beg more money from taxpayers. ACS is run by exclusionary racists.