Asheville City Schools’ Nov. 1 work session board brief

Press release from Asheville City Schools:

FEEDBACK FROM BUDGET QUESTIONNAIRE
During Nov. 1’s Special Called Meeting, Ashley-Michelle Thublin, Executive Director of Communications, presented the Board with a look at the Budget Questionnaire, which closed at 11:59 PM on October 31st.  In total, 382 stakeholders ensured their voices were heard, with the largest group representing current parents at 294.  Additional responders included 8 students, 19 community members that live with the Asheville City Schools district and 63 current or former Asheville City Schools staff members.

A brief analysis can be found here.

In short, common thoughts and feelings shared with the Board of Education include:
-The Central Office is overfunded considering its staff vs. the number of students within the district.
-The budget crisis is being seen and felt by everyone in the district.
-I suggest raising salaries for teachers and all staff.
-We cannot let a small population of parents and students dictate the financial direction of this school system.
-ACS should not close or merge any existing schools.
-Whatever decisions are made should be fully vetted and completely transparent.
-Please make a decision before December regarding the collapsing of school(s).  We need time to prepare for the 22-23 school year and cannot proceed without knowing what schools will remain open.
-I think the consolidation with BCS is inevitable.
-I believe a hiring freeze is the last thing that should happen considering many schools are short-staffed to begin with.
-How do we compare with other districts within our region and similarly sized districts across the state?

Additionally, when asked “do you have questions about our current financial situation,” 269 stakeholders responded.  Common questions include:
-When are you going to reduce the Central Office?
-Why haven’t you addressed this sooner?
-How can this be resolved?
-Who is reviewing the budget and determining where cost-cutting measures are made?
-How do we get more funding, especially from the state?
-Why haven’t school repair needs been monitored regularly and addressed so we aren’t facing these huge repair bills?

Although the budget questionnaire has closed, the Board continues to encourage students, staff and families to share their feedback by email and/or by participating in public comment either in-person or virtually during the November 8th Regular Meeting.

PRESCHOOL
In response to Board Member requests, a presentation was also made about the Preschool Program.

Susanna Smith, Director of the Preschool Program, gave a brief history of the program as well as examined its student demographic breakdown and staffing needs since the 2018-2019 school year.

She also showed its revenue vs. expenditures from 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021 -22 school years, pointing out that Asheville City Schools has continued to allocate local funds to support the program.  She anticipates that, above and beyond revenues and grants, the district will spend approximately $1.1 million in local money for 2021-22.

Smith’s presentation too looked at surrounding counties and how they fund their preschool program.

ESSER FUNDS 
Sarah Cain, Elementary Education and Federal Programs Director, also gave an ESSERS Update.

She explained that ESSER funds are about preventing, preparing, and responding to the COVID-19 emergency. Some reminders about ESSER Funds include:
-We are required to follow Uniform Guidance, specifically Federal and State regulations around spending ESSER Funds.
-The original application can be adjusted through an amendment process.
-Projected salaries, supplies, and services may not show as currently encumbered funds.
-Information and guidance from the Federal & State level changes.
-Sustainability is a critical part of our budgeting process.

ESSER 1 (expires 9/30/22)
-As of October 31, 2021, Asheville City Schools has spent 83% of its ESSERS 1 fund totaling $855,948.78.  This means we have $145,185 that remains and must be spent by September 30, 2022.  Much of the remaining ESSER 1 funds have been allocated to salaries for staff members paid out of this funding code.
-Areas of ESSER 1 spending include:
Replacement of Materials
Operations and Sanitation
Technology Replacement
Mental Health Supports, Health Monitors, Safety Monitor
Professional Development around remote learning and learning loss

ESSER 2 (expires 9/30/23)
-As of October 31, 2021, Asheville City Schools has spent 44% of its ESSERS 2 fund totaling $3,120,445  This means we have $1,762,735 that remains and must be spent by September 30, 2023.
-Areas of ESSER 2 spending include:
Summer School Programs
Addressing learning loss through high-quality materials
Professional Development
Air Quality
Sanitation/Virus Transmission
Mental Health
Educational Technology

ESSER 3 (expires 9/30/24)
-As of October 31, 2021, Asheville City Schools has spent 2% of its ESSER 3 fund totaling $6,990,164.  This means we have $6,831,873 that remains and must be spent by September 30, 2024.  However, an important point of note is that most projected salaries fall under ESSER 3.  If you take into consideration all projected salaries paid from ESSER 3, it accounts for between 55 – 60% of the total amount granted to the district.
-Areas of ESSER 3 Spending include:
At least 20% of ESSER 3 funding must be spent on Learning Loss
Continuity of Academic and Social Emotional Services
Educational Technology
Mental Health
Addressing the Unique Needs of Special Populations; ie students experiencing homelessness, student utilizing exceptional children services, students learning English as a second language
Preparation and Coordination of COVID Response

Cain also shared that ESSER funds have very specific guidelines and can only be used in 14 allowable areas.  Based on the “Other ESSA Eligible Activities” area, she will be bringing Board Members additional information about potentially using ESSER 3 funds to provide bonuses to address staff recruitment and retention during the November 8th Regular Meeting.  Additionally, she reiterated that this funding is intended to not only support students now but next semester, next school year and through 2024.

FINANCE AUDIT 
The Board of Education also heard from auditors at Anderson Smith & Wike PLLC.  They gave a broad overview of the district’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, explaining there were no significant findings.  At this time, the district has not received an electronic copy of the report shared; however, the auditor anticipates that this will occur this week.  Once it’s been received, the report in its entirety will be added to this section of the Board Brief as shared on the website.

STAFFING & SUBSTITUE UPDATE 
At the request of the Board, Dr. Dickerson gave a staffing and substitute update.  He explained that since July 1, 2021, Asheville City Schools has received 20 certified staff member resignations and 19 classified staff member resignations.

He also shared more about the district’s new partnership with ESS, a K-12 education staffing and management solution, that specializes in placing qualified staff in daily and/or long-term substitute positions  At this time, there are a total of 44 substitute teachers within the district, nine of which have been hired within the last two weeks.  If you would like to support us in developing our substitute pool, please click here.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS: 
The Board of Education presented a resolution in support of LGBTQIA+ students and their families stating “the Board affirms that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.  Furthermore, the Board asserts that inflammatory and bigoted language is dehumanizing toward all of our faculty, staff, students and families.  And, as a Board, we respectfully ask our public officials to consider the harms created by divisive and vitriolic language and its impact on our students.”  They will vote on the resolution as part of their November 8th Regular Board Meeting.

Kidada Wynn, Executive Director of Student Services, presented a Counseling/Support Services report, sharing the names of each staff member, their assigned school(s) as well as their roles and responsibilities.

April Dockery, Executive Director of Crisis Management and Operations, also gave a presentation about Discipline Data. Her presentation examined our current major referrals from the first quarter of this school year compared to the major referrals from quarter one of the 2018-2019 school year, as that was the last year without COVID19.

Our current first quarter major referrals total 188, which is a 78% reduction and 646 less than this time in 2018.  During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 834 major referrals during the first quarter.  She said, as a group, we’re working on what’s best for each child and conversations are had about each major referral to see if it truly warrants a suspension or expulsion.  It was also determined that, as we’re moving toward eliminating exclusionary practices, there’s been some misconceptions.

At this time, Asheville City Schools does not have a “Zero Suspension Policy.”  The Board has not instituted any such policy.   To maintain a safe learning environment, staff are fully empowered to write referrals, and if a staff member has a question about this practice, they’re encouraged to speak with their school leader.

And, as a reminder, the Board of Education will be hosting its next Regular Meeting on Monday, November 8th in the Board Room located at 85 Mountain Street.  The meeting can also be streamed on the district’s YouTube page.