CONTRACTING AND EXPANDING: Despite population growth for Buncombe County, over the past five years, the Buncombe County Schools system has shed nearly 900 stu- dents. The number of white students in particular is getting smaller, although it remains the overwhelming majority of the whole student body. Meanwhile, Hispanic students are rapidly becoming a much more significant portion of the BCS student population, increasing from 13 to 16.3 percent. Graphic by Scott Southwick and Able Allen