Anger, fear and tears came spilling out of a tense Asheville City Board of Education meeting March 11 after the school board voted 5-2 to close Montford North Star Academy and send its students to Asheville Middle School next school year. Board members Liza Kelly and James Carter dissented.
Tag: Asheville City Board of Education
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Asheville board faces vote to close Montford school
Parents are decrying a proposal that Superintendent Maggie Fehrman says could help the district address a projected $4.5 million budget shortfall next school year — merge its two middle schools. Fehrman estimated the merger would save the district $1.8 million to $2.3 million per year.
Buncombe advances school district consolidation study
While one local public school district redraws its district lines and the other considers merging its two middle schools, Buncombe County is moving forward with a study to explore consolidation of the two districts.
Asheville school staff gets promised raises as district faces $4.5 million shortfall
The Asheville City Board of Education voted unanimously Feb. 12 to make 2% supplement increases permanent, despite a projected $4.5 million budget shortfall in 2024-25.
Asheville school board workshops Parents’ Bill of Rights
The Asheville City Board of Education continues to rewrite its policies in an effort to limit what board members say would be undue harm to LGBTQ+ students caused by the state Parents’ Bill of Rights law passed last year.
WTF: How a library gets its books
Some parents have made frequent appearances at school board meetings to argue that various books — usually related to sexual health or depicting LGBTQ+ students and families — don’t belong in libraries accessible to children. The latest edition of Xpress’s WTF — “Want the Facts?” — series looks at the policies and procedures that determine how books are chosen for school and county libraries.
Asheville school board delays vote on Parents’ Bill of Rights policies
Board Chair George Sieburg said board members wanted to explore how to show support to teachers and students in the policies beyond what has been provided by the N.C. School Boards Association.
ACS commissions enrollment and capacity study to address urgent challenges
The Asheville City Board of Education voted 6-1 at its Nov. 20 meeting to commission an enrollment and capacity study from California-based Cooperative Strategies without seeking competing bids, and started a conversation about the need to consider consolidating some of its schools.
Asheville school board considers policy changes to comply with state Parents’ Bill of Rights
Representatives from the Asheville-based Coalition for Southern Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, asked board members at their Oct. 9 meeting to hold off on changing policies related to the recently passed Parents’ Bill of Rights while legal experts analyze how districts should implement the law.
Asheville City Board of Education sets performance metrics for superintendent
The metric, drafted by Superintendent Maggie Fehrman, will focus on her progress in three categories: strategic plan development; strategic facilities planning; and leader accountability, transparency, governance and policy.
New Asheville City Schools superintendent outlines priorities
Amidst meetings with principals, administrative staff, board members and various ACS stakeholders over her first month on the job, Fehrman developed a three-pronged promise to “help focus and bring people together” in the upcoming school year.
Asheville City Schools outsources school meals
The Asheville City Board of Education voted 6-1 to enter into an annual contract for the fiscal year starting July 1 with Chartwells, a subsidiary of Compass Group USA, at a special called meeting June 29.
ACS board recommends pay raises for school employees
The Asheville City Board of Education approved budget recommendations that include a 7% increase to each pay level for certified staff, which include teachers, and starting pay for all hourly employees, including bus drivers and custodial workers, to $20 per hour.
AVL school board selects firm to lead superintendent search
Summit Search Solutions described itself in its proposal as a “boutique” search firm that specializes in education.
Public Montessori school to open in August
Mountain City Public Montessori is projected to open for kindergarten through 6th grade in August.
Council approves independent committee to review water outages
The new nine-member board will include two residential water customers, one commercial customer, one emergency response or disaster relief professional, two communications professionals and three experts on public water systems.
Council to vote on water review committee Jan. 10
Asheville City Council will consider establishing an “independent review committee to analyze the events and circumstances leading up to, and throughout the duration of, the recent prolonged water outage.” The group would evaluate Asheville’s emergency response, identify infrastructure needs and recommend policy changes to make the city more resilient.
City school board OKs Asheville Primary shelter plan
The Winter Safe Shelter program at Asheville Primary School, as explained by Counterflow Asheville, will prioritize families, LGBTQ people and residents who are Black, Indigenous or people of color. The shelter plans to operate nightly through the end of March, housing up to 10 people per night with space for another 10 support staff on site.
Culture war comes to Asheville school board
Two people speaking during public comment revealed brewing tensions around critical race theory and sexuality education in the Asheville City Schools district.
Five takeaways from Buncombe’s 2022 general election
Complete Democratic control of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, a better-than-expected performance by Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and $70 million in new spending for county initiatives all emerged from this year’s midterm election results.
Letter: Massachi will highlight students’ voices
“What makes Miri’s candidacy unique and important is that as a board member, she will fight to include and highlight the students’ ideas and voices.”