From Asheville City Schools:
On behalf of Mr. James Carter, Chair of the Asheville City Board of Education, and Superintendent Dr. Gene Freeman, please see below for an important update about our district. The following has been shared with our staff and families.
As a follow-up to Monday’s communication that addressed HIL Consultant’s Financial Analysis, we would like to provide additional information about the complex budget issues we’re facing.
1) Has the Board taken action on any of the recommendations from HIL Consultants?
Monday’s Work Session was the first time Board Members heard HIL Consultants’ recommendations. At this time, no action has been taken.
Staff and the Board of Education will be reviewing this information and accepting public input before any decisions are made.
The district is also waiting on a final State budget from the General Assembly.
Again, at this time, Asheville City Schools has not begun a hiring freeze or begun the consolidation of schools and programs.
However, the district is reviewing all outside service contracts and all departments have begun reviewing their respective budgets to eliminate all non-essential expenditures. This began in Summer 2021 and is a practice the district is continuing.
2) Based on the recommendations, will staff members lose their jobs?
If the Board of Education chooses to accept the recommendation of implementing a hiring freeze, all current staff members will keep their positions. Their recommendation is to not rehire positions as employees leave the district or retire unless absolutely essential. According to Dr. Mark Dickerson, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, essential positions are those that directly impact student instruction.
3) Why can’t Asheville City Schools just ask Buncombe County Government for additional funding?
Per General Statute 115C-430, the County is required to fund both Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools in proportion to their number of students that attend school on a daily basis, sometimes referred to as Average Daily Membership. Based on our enrollment numbers, Asheville City Schools typically receives about 15% of Buncombe County Schools’ ask. If Buncombe County Government gave Asheville City Schools additional funding they would proportionally have to also give Buncombe County Schools funding based on their ADM percentage.
4) How much lottery funding does Asheville City Schools currently have access to?
Lottery proceeds for public schools in Buncombe County are split by State law between Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools. Currently, Asheville City Schools’ available lottery funding totals approximately $1.2 million for capital use only. Only the State can designate lottery funds for non-capital uses. In short, lottery funds are NOT a source of discretionary funds. Neither Asheville City Schools nor Buncombe County Government can budget lottery funds to cover specific operational costs. At this time (and in alignment with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Annual Report) Asheville City Schools’ lottery funding can only be used for the following types of projects:
Purchase of land for public school buildings
Planning/Design fees for public school buildings
Construction of public school buildings
Renovation of public school buildings
Enlargement of / additions to public school buildings
Repair of public school buildings (beyond general maintenance)
School technology [from corporate tax fund (ADM Fund) allocations only].
And, before Asheville City Schools is able to use their allotted lottery funding on capital improvements, the district must submit an application and receive approval from the County Commissioners.
5) Is Asheville City Schools currently accepting out-of-district students?
At this time, Asheville City Schools is unable to accommodate requests for out-of-district students in Kindergarten and 1st Grade due to State class size restrictions and available staff.
We are also unable to accommodate out-of-district 9th – 12th Graders due to staff availability.
However, we are accepting out-of-district applications for students in Grades 2 – 8. If you would like to learn more about the enrollment process, please click here.
6) Why does Asheville City Schools charge a tuition fee for out-of-district students?
Each family that lives within the district pays an additional supplemental tax which goes to Asheville City Schools. The district’s tuition rate was put in place to help offset the revenue lost by not receiving the supplemental tax proceeds. The tuition rate does NOT match the tax rate and is in fact lower. In short, out-of-district students bring fewer dollars to the district than in-district students.
Asheville City Schools’ tuition rate is $300 each year for Buncombe County residents, with an additional fee of $100 per sibling, and $1,200 each year for residents that live outside of Buncombe County, with an additional fee of $100 per sibling.
7) Does Asheville City Schools know where families are going that leave the district?
Yes. As shared by Deputy Superintendent Melissa Hedt during the October 4th Work Session, over the past three months, 466 students have withdrawn from the district. The three most common reasons include transferring to Buncombe County Schools, transferring to a North Carolina private school and transferring to a North Carolina charter school. We invite you to read the full report here.
Currently, 634 students that live in the Buncombe County School district attend Asheville City Schools.
8) Can Asheville City Schools add properties to the school district?
In order to add a property to the Asheville City Schools district, Buncombe County Schools must agree to the transfer. If a property is transferred, Buncombe County Schools would lose all State and local funding associated with students living at that property moving forward because the money would move with the child.
9) Has the Central Office done anything to cut its expenses?
As part of the 2021-2022 budget, all departments have begun reviewing their respective budgets to eliminate all non-essential expenditures.
Through attrition, the Central Office staffing budget has been cut by more than $500,000 over the past year. And, two Central Office employees have plans to retire within the next two months; neither position will be refilled, with their roles and responsibilities shifting to current Central Office employees.
To learn more, we invite you to attend the Board’s next Regular Meeting on Monday, October 11th at 5:00 PM in the Board Room located at 85 Mountain Street. We will also be holding Special Called Budget Workshops on October 19th and 25th at 5:15 PM in the Board Room located at 85 Mountain Street. All meetings can also be streamed on the district’s YouTube page.
There is not one valid reason for Buncombe County to fund two separate antiquated government school systems. The people who deny this consolidation are RACISTs.