Xpress takes stock of the current school boards and examines the challenges that lie ahead for their future representatives
Tag: Asheville City Board of Education
Showing 43-63 of 85 results
Bus drivers, custodians in short supply at Asheville schools
Asheville City Schools still needs to fill about 50 positions for the school year that starts Monday, Aug. 29. With only 18 of 29 ACS bus routes staffed to roll, some of the system’s youngest students may need to board the bus as early as 6:45 a.m.
ACS preschool parents taken off-guard by price hike
Asheville City Schools maintains its increased preschool tuition — as much as $275 per month for some families — are in line with those of other local programs.
Five takeaways from Buncombe’s 2022 primaries
The Buncombe County Board of Elections won’t officially certify the results until Friday, May 27, and the N.C. Board of Elections will issue its own certification Thursday, June 9. But even with those steps still to come, there’s plenty to learn from the unofficial results.
Letter: Leaders should have vision of healthy school district
“We need new blood on the school board.”
2022 Primary Election Voter Guide
In preparation for the primary election of Tuesday, May 17, Xpress sent questions to all candidates in contested races representing Buncombe County voters. Responses from candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, N.C. General Assembly, Buncombe County-level races and Asheville City Council are all collected here.
2022 Primary Voter Guide: Asheville City Board of Education
Candidates in the Asheville City Board of Education 2022 primary race share their positions with Xpress.
Asheville City Schools will revisit desegregation order
The Asheville City Board of Education asked attorney Chris Campbell to speak on the desegregation order’s history and legal status during a Jan. 28 meeting. While the board took no action, Chair James Carter indicated that members would consider asking the court to change or end the order in the coming months.
City schools get failing grade for closing Asheville Primary
“If we’d had an inclusive process, there could have been a viable solution.”
Letter: Citizen voices sidelined by surprise school board pick
“As if our city needed one more example of citizen voices being sidelined, on Aug. 24, Asheville City Council pushed through the nomination of George Sieburg for the Asheville City Board of Education just hours after the vacancy was known to anyone.”
Letter: Asheville City Schools’ plans bode ill for students and city
“Now ACS is proposing a turn away from integration without offering any tangible reason for the change.”
Letter: ACS should fix two-tiered enrollment system
“It is past time to significantly update or eliminate the two-tiered enrollment system and officially recognize and figure out transportation for “out-of-district” students who live in Asheville Housing Authority projects and economically depressed areas in the city of Asheville that are locked out of the legacy district boundaries.”
School board saves Asheville Primary, reverses pre-K plans
The potential closure and sale of the APS campus had drawn intense community pushback since being initially recommended as a cost-saving measure by Superintendent Gene Freeman on Dec. 7.
Asheville City Schools facing budget cuts
Under current projections, even if the system taps into the entirety of its available reserves to cover expenses for fiscal year 2021-22, it would still face $865,000 in cuts to balance its budget. And if expenses and revenue trends continue on the same path, the necessary cuts for fiscal year 2022-23 could exceed $2 million.
ACS board shakes up leadership
At its first meeting since the March 23 appointments of James Carter, Jacquelyn Carr McHargue and Peyton O’Conner by Asheville City Council, the Asheville City Board of Education’s members chose Carter as chair and McHargue as vice chair in a pair of split decisions.
In one ear…
Council votes to demolish Vance Monument
“I’m looking forward to the day we can have a centerpiece in our city that reflects Asheville today,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. “And I’m proud to be part of the Council that will make this change.”
Council faces cost of Vance Monument removal March 23
Removing Asheville’s Vance Monument will cost between $114,150 and $495,000, according to five bids submitted by North Carolina-based construction and demolition companies.
ACS preschool changes draw commissioner, community critiques
“The path we’re on right now is a collision that puts us backwards and actually takes classrooms offline,” said Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, regarding the Asheville City Schools plan to relocate preschool classrooms from Asheville Primary School to other elementary schools and Asheville Housing Authority developments.
Asheville City Schools seeks changes to desegregation order
“Families of color have unfairly limited elementary school options for their children because the district is mandated to maintain antiquated racial quotas that were put into place 30 years ago,” writes Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman.
Council approves elected, hybrid school board proposals
Following a pair of votes for different methods of picking the school board at Council’s meeting of March 9, the final say on its composition now rests with the N.C. General Assembly, which must pass legislation to enact any change.