At last night’s meeting, Asheville City Council unanimously approved the first step in allocating half a million dollars in funding to PEAK Academy, a charter school serving primarily Black students in the area.
The funding, which will come from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), was the remaining slice of the $26.3 million the city received from the federal government for pandemic relief measures.
A finalized agreement will return to City Council on March 12, according to the city.
In the Asheville City School system, only 5% of Black students are considered “college and career ready,” compared to 57% of white students, according to 2023 data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Black students at PEAK had higher grade-level proficiency in reading and math on end-of-grade testing in the 2022-2023 school year than Black counterparts at Asheville City Schools and statewide, according to Mountain Xpress. Black students at PEAK still lagged behind white students across the district and statewide.
PEAK did not apply in the initial ARPA funding process in fall 2021 where 70 organizations vied for $26.3 million funds. Around 50 applicants, including Western North Carolina AIDS Project and Young Men’s Institute Cultural Center, did not receive ARPA funds.
PEAK first requested $590,000 of ARPA funds in September 2023 in a letter written by the school’s executive director Kidada Wynn.
“As we embark on our third school year and strategically plan for our fourth, we are asking that Council consider providing additional financial support to assist in keeping our doors open,” Wynn wrote.
In response, City Council granted PEAK $50,000 in Strategic Partnership Grant funding in November.
PEAK advocates, including founder Gene Bell, began showing up to council’s public comment, asking for more. Tension reached a high point when Council approved $400,000 in ARPA funds to build a public bathroom in early February.
“How can we as a city, even consider the kind of spend on a single toilet for basically the unhoused folks here in Asheville, amongst others, when Asheville’s educational achievement gap is the worst in North Carolina? And PEAK Academy, a school actually closing that gap, had made the [funding] request,” community member Kimberly Collins said during public comment at the Feb. 14 meeting.
The city previously allocated $500,000 to an organization scheduled to provide services for unhoused people at a converted hotel. The city backed away from the deal after the foreclosure on the California developer who owned the property.
At last night’s meeting, Mayor Esther Manheimer said that while she had concerns about the impact of charter schools on public education funding in North Carolina, she considered the $500,000 in ARPA funding a form of reparations for the Black community.
PEAK Board member Dwight Mullen chairs the Community Reparations Commission.
“In general, charter schools have been used as a way to resegregate our school systems, this being one of the rare exceptions. PEAK Academy has achieved incredible outcomes,” Manheimer said.
“So to me this is a form of reparations because during desegregation Black schools were closed, Black students had to move to the white schools and the Black schools, in our case, were given to the city. Many of our recreation centers were former Black schools.”
PEAK currently faces a civil rights complaint from the WNC Citizens for Equality, alleging the school of hiring discrimination, TAsheville Watchdog reported.
Manheimer acknowledged that she is “deeply concerned” about PEAK’s ability to fund itself in the future.
“I know they’re in conversation about working on a more permanent fix and I hope that all comes together so we don’t give this funding and see them close in year two, that would be a not-good outcome.”
Ceasefire debate continues but meeting halted
Following a public comment period of about 35 minutes where advocates of a ceasefire resolution for the Israel-Palestine war spoke, the meeting ended abruptly with a motion for a closed session.
Protestors waved their hands, painted bright red as a symbol of the United States having “blood on their hands” for its role in funding military equipment used in the war.
“You guys have taken jazz hands to a whole new level,” Manheimer said.
Manheimer has requested in previous meetings that audience members do quiet jazz hands instead of applauding. At last night’s meeting, Manheimer also asked the crowd for “no hissing and booing and grumbling or whatever.”
Nour Abdelfatah, a self-described Egyptian refugee, spoke at public comment for around 10 minutes – several of Abdelfatah’s peers ceded their time – advocating for the city to pass a ceasefire resolution.
“It’s a pretty mild resolution that we know is symbolic,” Abdelfatah said. “Asheville City Council’s not going to pass a resolution and then all of a sudden there’s going to be a ceasefire in Gaza. We know that. But around 17 city councils around the United States have passed resolutions, and so there is a movement.”
Abdelfatah said without a response from council, the protestors would continue to disrupt meetings.
Protestors chanted loudly “Free Palestine” at the end of Abdelfatah’s speech. City Attorney Brad Branham got up from his seat and whispered back and forth with Manheimer. At the mayor’s urging, councilwoman Maggie Ulmann motioned for a closed session over the chanting. Council voted unanimously to go into closed session.
Under North Carolina law, closed sessions may only be used in specific instances, including when council members need to discuss privileged legal matters with their attorney. The city clerk maintains minutes taken during closed sessions; however, those minutes are kept confidential until the reason for the confidentiality expires.
The statute requires the motion to include the name of the lawsuit to be discussed. Ullman cited City of Asheville v. Christopher James Peterson, Maripatricia Kelly Peterson a/k/a Mari Peterson and Q2 Group LLC.
Legal filings show the case was filed in May 2016 for condemnation and easements related to the River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project. The attorney for the defendants withdrew as counsel in November 2023.
The Council’s Rules of Procedure permit the mayor to shorten the public comment period with the concurrence of council members, but Manheimer did not motion for an early conclusion.
"When I ended the meeting last night there was only one more speaker signed up and it was pretty clear we weren’t going to be able to hear them," Manheimer told BPR in an email. "Protestors have shut down meetings in other cities using shouting/chanting so it seems it was an eventuality we would also have this experience."
When the council moved to closed session, one community member, Chelsea Lawson, remained on the public comment list to speak.
BPR asked every member of council about their stance on a proposed ceasefire resolution. Only Kim Roney replied prior to publication.
“In consultation with Jewish and Palestinian neighbors, I’ve signed a letter with over 300 elected officials across the country that has been submitted to the Biden administration and Congress. The letter calls for durable ceasefire, release of all hostages, delivery of humanitarian aid, and condemnation of violence, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. Acknowledging shared humanity and holding on to hope, I have expressed my support for a local resolution to our Mayor's and City Manager's offices,” she wrote in an email.
Other tidbits
- In a manager’s report, Council heard updates on several infrastructure projects, including plans for a low-barrier shelter and the $37.5 million renovation of McCormick Field. Design is expected to wrap up in June 2024 and the bidding process will kick off in July, according to Capital Projects Manager Jade Dundas.
- Council approved a 15-item consent agenda. Highlights included: a $1.9 million purchase of three new diesel buses and $105,000 to repair the Rankin Avenue and Wall Street parking garages.
- Budget work sessions will be held on March 26 and April 9 at 2:30 p.m., both in the Council Chamber, located on the 2nd Floor of City Hall.
Every second and fourth Tuesday, Asheville City Council meets at the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza beginning at 5:00 p.m. See the full recording of the February 27 meeting and the agenda.
