Asheville City and Buncombe County School System Consolidation Feasibility Study
Asheville City and Buncombe County School System Consolidation Feasibility Study
In September of 2023 the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that the Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems jointly study the feasibility of a merger. To date, Buncombe County Commissioners were designated the lead entity for this project and issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a vendor to facilitate the study. “This is a really important question, and I want us to do this right. I think we should follow through on this, it was not a started on the local level, but we want this to be a process with integrity,” said Chair Newman.
The Board approved an amendment to establish the budget necessary ($301,543) to pay for that study and awarded a contract to the recommended vendor Prismatic Services, Inc. The proposed timeline is:
April 2024: Prismatic Services to launch study
December 2024: Prismatic Services to submit final report
January 2025: Commissioners & School Boards to discuss findings/recommendations. The Board of Commissioners will hold a joint special meeting with Buncombe County and City of Asheville Schools administration on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. at the First Floor Conference Room of the County Administration Building, located at 200 College Street. No action or public comment will be taken at the meeting. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed to the Buncombe County Government’s Facebook channel.
February 2025: Board of Education to report to General Assembly
Beginning in September, Buncombe County hosted a series of drop-in meetings to hear from community members. Learn more about meeting dates and locations below. Find more information here.
Final Report
The consultant hired by Buncombe County to complete the School System Consolidation Feasibility Study has provided the County with a final report. The report is linked here. A presentation to Commissioners, appendices, and an executive summary are also available below in the documents section.
Board of Commissioners Special Joint Meeting with Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools Boards
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called joint meeting with the Buncombe County Board of Education and the Asheville City School Board on January 16 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the First Floor Conference Room of the County Administration Building, located at 200 College Street.
Following lunch, the Board of Commissioners' will hold their Budget Retreat from 1:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the same room.
No action or public comment will be taken at these meetings. The meetings are open to the public and will be streamed to the Buncombe County Government’s Facebook channel. The agenda will be finalized and posted to Buncombe County Government’s page closer to the meeting date.
Documents
Tapped In | School System Consolidation
Leonard and ZaKiya are joined by Jeremy Lett, Buncombe County Public Engagement Manager, to discuss the study currently being conducted to determine the feasibility of consolidating Buncombe County and Asheville City School systems. They also talk about what that could mean for our community and how you can get involved and let your voice be heard in the discussion.