Rick Cruz will start as the ACS chief July 1 after leaving his role as deputy superintendent for Houston Independent School District in Texas, where he worked in numerous roles for 15 years, according to a press release from ACS spokesperson Dillon Huffman.
Although Asheville has numerous shelters for the homeless population, its organizers say this particular shelter fills gaps in the city’s current system. “The focus is on intact families,” explains shelter worker Gene Ettison.
Candidates elected to the board will help pick a new superintendent, address Asheville City Schools’ achievement and opportunity gaps between Black and white students and face a wave of resignations and declining financial reserves within the system.
Hoteliers and hotel opponents alike have waited since September 2019 for Asheville City Council to reach a decision about future lodging development within city limits. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the countdown clock finally hits zero.
“The families, staff and supportive community of Asheville Primary School feel that the decision to sell the building at 441 Haywood Road and redistribute the programs currently housed there to other spaces is shortsighted and is being made hastily without a long-term plan for what is best for the community.”
“Talking to the kids themselves, it’s clear that, in many cases, one problem is that when they ask for help at home, they only get an embarrassed giggle and a shrug — and the older generation’s ‘I was never any good at math’ gets passed on.”
State data show that the gap in academic achievement between white and black students in the Asheville City Schools is the largest in North Carolina. The district is launching a new initiative to address the persistent problem — but only time will tell whether this effort will succeed where so many have failed to show results.
City Council moved ahead with plans to poll city voters on whether or not they’d like to see districts put in place for seats on the Council. Three new members of the city’s school Board of Education were appointed, and the issue of homestays in accessory dwelling units returned to the Council chamber.
Council will interview six candidates for three open spots on the five-member Asheville City Schools Board of Education on Feb. 28. The finalists — Yvette Jives, James Lee, Amy Ray, Joyce Brown, Patricia Griffin and Mary Ellen Lewis — were selected from 27 applicants who met residency requirements for seats on the board. Council is expected to announce the new board members during its regular meeting.
Through their elected leaders, Asheville voters will now have more say-so over development projects downtown and new hotels citywide.
