Buncombe County’s 2025-26 draft budget is out, and the Asheville City Board of Education is not happy about it.
Tag: Asheville City Board of Education
Showing 1-21 of 91 results
Asheville school board seeks ‘no-cuts’ budget
The school board passed, 7-0, the most aggressive budget option — one free of cuts — presented by Asheville City Schools (ACS) Superintendent Maggie Fehrman on April 21, counting on county commissioners to boost allocations and raise the ACS supplemental tax.
Parents ask county to raise taxes for schools
Families of Asheville City Schools (FACS), a group made up of parents from every school in ACS, has launched a “Two Cents for AVL” campaign lobbying the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to raise the supplemental property tax rate for the district.
Asheville City Board of Education sets guiding principles
The Asheville City Board of Education passed a set of loose guidelines for how it should govern, communicate and act at meetings in a 6-1 vote at its meeting March 10. Board member Pepi Acebo voted against what the district called “board norms.”
Asheville school board goes on record opposing consolidation
Asheville City Board of Education weighs in on report that concludes that merging with Buncombe County Schools wouldn’t improve student outcomes or save month. The board does sign on for more collaboration though.
School district consolidation not recommended
“Based on the literature review, constituent input, local environmental factors, the current operations and academic outcomes of each school system, Prismatic does not recommend consolidation of ACS and BCS,” concluded a report from Charlotte-based education consultants Prismatic Services.
Asheville City school board delays decision on staff bonuses for post-Helene volunteer work
Unsure of exactly how much it would cost, the Asheville City Board of Education voted 7-0 Nov. 12 to table a decision on bonus payment for nearly 200 district staff members who volunteered their time in the immediate aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene.
2024 Election Voter Guide: Asheville City Board of Education
This November, voters will, for the first time, make the Asheville City Board of Education a fully elected board.
Enrollment down, achievement up at Asheville City Schools
Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Fehrman reported that the well-documented achievement gap between Black and white students closed slightly last year, while overall achievement for ACS students increased by 2.5% in 2023-24.
Letter: Fundamentals of education haven’t changed
“It escapes me how this could impact overworked, underpaid and probably unappreciated teachers interacting with students in classrooms.”
County, school boards discuss priorities in unusual joint meeting
On Aug. 22, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners called a first-of-its-kind joint meeting within the Asheville City and Buncombe County boards of education to identify the three elected bodies’ shared purpose.
County greenlights proposed redesign of West Asheville school
A new EMS base and library could be coming to the corner of Haywood Road and Interstate 240 in West Asheville if the county can figure out how to pay for its plans on land owned by Asheville City Schools.
Montford North Star Academy merges with Asheville Middle School
After the Asheville City Board of Education decided to consolidate the district’s two middle schools for the 2024-25 school year, the families of Montford North Star Academy students were left with a choice: Send their children to Asheville Middle School or leave the district.
Asheville Unpaved learns from community pushback
“Initially, we had a lot of community support for that project,” Sule says about plans for an unpaved trail near Asheville Middle School. “I think as it started to get nearer toward actually getting funded and approved in an easement, some [people] came up and opposed that project.”
Asheville City Schools considers staff cuts
Even after making some cuts to increased expenditures and allocating $3 million from reserves, the district may need to cut staff to close the $1.2 million budget gap, she said.
Buncombe school board opposes private school vouchers
The Buncombe County Board of Education is not happy with the direction state legislators are taking in funding schools.
Letter: City should adopt Candace Pickens Memorial Park
“Putting the city logo on the park is a small but important symbolic gesture letting people know this is a place where they are welcome and that the city supports and cares for this park.”
Asheville educator advocacy group rallies for a seat at the table
On June 10, the Asheville City Association of Educators delivered a letter signed by the Parent Teacher Organizations or parent teams from all eight of the district’s schools.
Bacoate Branch Trail hits a dead end
After several months of discussion, including a contentious meeting with the Asheville City Board of Education June 3, Mike Sule, who was spearheading the project, asked the board to remove the project from its agenda June 10.
ACS puts mental health support at top of budget priority
As state funding falls with enrollment and $1 million in COVID-era federal funding ends, the district is facing a $5.7 million gap before new funding requests and projected savings are considered, Superintendent Maggie Fehrman reported to the board April 15.
After 10 years, alternative education in ACS may be returning to Montford
It’s been 10 years since Asheville City Schools displaced its once successful majority-Black alternative program from its home on Montford Avenue. At least one longtime educator calls that the worst decision the district has made this century.
