BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — The two school systems in the Asheville area are preparing to welcome back students, but they are operating with less funding this year.
Millions in COVID dollars that were available to local districts over the past four years runs out next month.
“We had to make some really tough decisions, and we are in a place where we are good. We’re not great…we’re not flush with cash. We are leaner than we’ve ever been,” said Dr. Rob Jackson, the superintendent of Buncombe County Schools.
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Jackson said the school system was grateful for the $110 million in ESSER funds its received since 2020. He said the money was used to upgrade the HVAC system and buy new materials for students.
Now, the district is having to make some tough decisions. That includes cutting five ESSER-funded social worker and counselor positions that the system was unable to replace with recurring funding.
“What we have lost is the positions we were able to bring in with ESSER dollars, so it’s incumbent upon us now as our students move forward beyond the pandemic to make sure we’re meeting their needs,” Jackson said.
But, he said because of retirements and re-arranging, no one was laid off.
We’ve handed out no ‘pink slips’ in our school system, so that’s something we’re very very proud of.
Dr. Jackson admits public schools are in a tough place, with enrollment dropping. Over the last three years, the number of students attending Buncombe County Schools has fallen slightly.
The decline is even greater for Asheville City Schools, which fell to less than 4,000 students last year. Asheville City schools superintendent Dr. Maggie Ferhman admits that balancing the budget has been a battle for several years.
“I feel like there was good reason to have concerns. There were a lot of questions about the district being right sized and if finances were being used efficiently and effectively,” said Dr. Fehrman.
She believes the $15 million in ESSER funds they received was spent wisely on things like support specialists, teacher training and after school programs. But a letter sent to staff last month mentions a “shortfall of approximately $5.7 million for this year’s budget” and “reducing five positions.”
Below is the letter:
DATE: July 17, 2024
RE: Update on FY 25 Budget and Potential Reduction in Force
Greetings Cougar Crew,
At the June 27th Board Meeting, I presented an update on the FY 25 Budget (timestamp 1:33:49) to the Board. This memo summarizes the information shared with the Board and provides additional details for ACS staff on the next steps in setting the final FY 25 Budget.
During the initial budget planning discussions, we predicted a decrease in revenue of approximately $2.4 million; and, we anticipated an increase in expenditures of approximately $3.3 million. This resulted in a total anticipated shortfall of approximately $5.7 million for the FY 25 budget. The Board approved appropriating $3 million from our fund balance, and we requested an increase in revenue from the county commissioners by $3.8 million dollars to cover our shortfall and budget enhancements.
While the County Commissioners did increase the amount appropriated to ACS in their FY 25 budget, it does not cover the entire shortfall we are predicting. This means none of the requested budget enhancements were funded and we will have to make additional cuts to the FY 25 budget above what we already had planned to make. The state and federal budgets are still not finalized, and additional changes to the state budget may impact our budget later in the fall.
My priority is to ensure that we can continue to provide each student with a high-quality education in a safe and welcoming learning environment. As we implemented the new staffing allotment formula, we have been able to cut more expenditures than I initially anticipated. Our schools have already reduced staffing where possible for the upcoming year. I shared that through central office reorganization, we anticipated to cut approximately $475,000. I would like to report that we were able to come close to meeting that goal by reducing five positions.
I am working with each department leader at the central office to closely review their operational budgets and staffing allocations to determine where we can make additional cuts in operations budgets and/or leave positions unfilled. I am also reviewing all proposed contracts to determine if we can cut expenses by eliminating any contracted services for next year. We are also looking for opportunities to increase revenue through grants and other funding sources.
I am optimistic that we can make the additional cuts to expenditures without having to eliminate additional positions, also known as a reduction in force (RIF). If it is determined that a position must be eliminated, any staff member impacted will have the opportunity to be placed in open positions for which they are qualified.
I know this news brings added stress to all members of our Cougar Crew. Please know that I value each and every employee and recognize the importance each staff member brings to our crew. ACS is not alone in this critical budget situation. Currently, we have a healthy fund balance to help mitigate the loss of student based funding and the end of ESSER funds for the FY 25 budget. However, we cannot rely on using fund balance to pay for recurring costs. As I stated, ensuring each student has a high-quality education in a safe and welcoming learning environment is my top priority and any cuts made to our budget are absolutely necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of our amazing school district.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly. You can also make an appointment to meet with me through my appointment calendar.
In Crew,
Maggie and Heidi
Dr. Fehrman says the five positions cut were in central office.
“So as we looked at places to cut, we really were focused on what is central office spending money on that we can either stop spending money on or reduce staffing. So we were able to decrease the central office budget by $1.2 million,” said Dr. Fehrman.
She says because of attrition, there were no layoffs.
“Even though we were able to reduce the number of staff we are paying, we actually didn’t have to issue any pink slips,” she said.
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Fehrman added that they used a staffing allotment formula to add teachers to classrooms in need and subtract them from grades with less students.
“We’ve had some major cuts. At the end of the day, we’ve been able to trim $3 million from our budget, but I do feel like at this point, those cuts were things we really wanted to have versus needed to have,” said Fehrman.
Both districts say even with less money, they’ll push through in hopes of supporting every student.
“For most parents, most families, they won’t see a difference. It will feel like we are continuing forward, and that’s what should happen…that’s our commitment to make sure we are serving our students,” said Jackson.
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