The Asheville City Board of Education voted 5-0 June 27 to empower Superintendent Maggie Fehrman to explore reducing central office staff to help make up a $1.2 million budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year. Board members Rebecca Strimer and Jesse Warren did not attend the virtual meeting.
After the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners allocated $600,000 of the district’s requested $3.8 million increase in fiscal year 2025, Fehrman projected that the district will be down $1.9 million in revenues because of decreased enrollment and the loss of COVID-era federal funding. Even after making some cuts to increased expenditures and allocating $3 million from reserves, the district may need to cut staff to close the gap, she said.
Fehrman said she thinks the district is as lean as possible at school sites, but that cuts “definitely” need to be considered at the central office.
Additionally, Fehrman said she was reviewing reducing contracted services such as for landscaping and security and considering leaving any open positions unfilled, as well as looking for ways to further decrease departmental budgets.
Any decisions on cutting staff would come before the board in August, Fehrman said.
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