More than 300 people – local educators, students, and parents – voiced frustrations over Buncombe County’s proposed budget.
In early May, County Manager Avril Pinder proposed a municipal budget that totals $624 million. As proposed, the county’s allocation for Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools funding is $20 million less than what school superintendents have asked for.
Timothy Lloyd, president of the Asheville City Association of Educators, argues that not fulfilling the school superintendent's requests for more funding will lead to cuts to both school districts.
“ If the school districts do not receive that collective $14.5 million of funding, then ACS is expected to cut 20 to 30 staff. Buncombe County Schools is expected to cut 100 to 150 staff.”
As it stands, commissioners are considering a property tax increase to maintain current government programs, services, and provide a 3% cost-of-living raise for employees.
Fully funding the schools’ budget requests would more than double the tax hike already being floated for local property owners.
North Carolina still pays the majority of school expenses - around 60% in Buncombe County - but the county has increased funding for schools by around $24 million over the last four years.
Meanwhile, state education allocations have fallen, and local public school enrollment has dropped around 5%.
Present at A-B Tech for Tuesday’s town hall were County Commissioners Parker Sloan, Martin Moore, Drew Ball, and Jennifer Horton. County Commissioners Terri Wells, Al Whitesides, and Amanda Edwards were also invited but did not attend.
The event was organized by the Asheville City Association of Educators, Buncombe County Association of Educators, and other groups.
Members of the public asked a range of questions to the county officials, including Claire Bailey, a parent of two students at Ira B Jones Elementary.
“ How can we possibly close the achievement gap in our schools without adequate resources and staffing?” Bailey asked.
Moore answered her question by simply stating, “ We can't.”
He added that conversations about the budget should start earlier because he doesn’t want to have to decide between more funding for early childhood education or K-12 education.
”We can do and should do both those things.”
County commissioners were then joined by a panel of mostly students and teachers who asked questions and shared testimonials.
One of those students was Nick Sharkey, a junior at Owen High School. Sharkey shared a story of one of his closest friends who lost everything due to Hurricane Helene eight months ago.
“ He lost his entire house, his entire livelihood,” Sharkey said. “... He found local housing within the community of Owen. He found permanent housing with no expense to him. He has found a place to stay, community resources, everything and anything that he could ask for.”
Sharkey added that the support of staff and teachers at Owen High helped him to get where he is today.
“We have nobody to thank but our staff and our teachers,” Sharkey said. “I can't imagine that even having a single staff member cut, a single teacher cut, that his recovery story would've been possible. So I ask once again, please don't cut our public school funding.”
Members of the panel acknowledged the tough position put on county officials due to questions about the education budget at the state and federal levels.
Towards the end, members asked the County commissioners if they will increase local spending for the school budget.
Their answers varied, but all had a common goal to, “ vote for a budget that fully funds our schools.”
After the town hall, Evie Thomas, a junior at Asheville High School, told BPR she hopes it had an impact on the county commissioners.
“ These aren't numbers,” Thomas said. “These are people, these are kids. You're targeting kids and not just numbers. It's not just money. It's about the future of not just Asheville, but Buncombe County.”
County commissioners are expected to vote on the budget at their June 3 meeting.
BPR’s Laura Hackett contributed to this report.
