March 30, 2022

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners

200 College Street, Room 326
Asheville, NC 28801

To Members of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners,

Thank you for your letter regarding County funding for early childhood/Pre-K education.  As
our two Boards continue to work together to address this critical issue, we believe that a fuller
picture of the financial considerations involved is beneficial for the County government, families
and our greater school community.

Access to early childhood education has been a top priority of our district since 1980,
resulting in what has become a recognized and award-winning 5 star Pre-K program for children
residing in both the City and County school districts. As was so kindly recognized in the letter
from six of the Buncombe County Commissioners, that program has become “one of the largest,
strongest preschool/Pre-K programs in Buncombe County.” Our educators are highly qualified,
certified North Carolina teachers who receive the same salary considerations and benefits
(including the local supplement) as other staff in our district. The curriculum is strenuous,
effective and growth-producing while incorporating aspects that we recognize as imperative not
only for academic achievement but also for the social/emotional wellbeing necessary for our
children to thrive. Additionally, we are the only public entity in the County providing direct
services to Pre-K students.

Unlike most school districts across Western North Carolina, for over 20 years, Asheville City
Schools has NOT solely relied on tuition, grants and state/federal dollars. Instead, past
superintendents and school boards have voted to use local dollars intended to support K-12
students for Pre-K students. In fact, since the 2016-2017 school year, we’ve spent
$7,100,834.02 in local funds for the Preschool Program. That amount does NOT include
what’s been spent for the current, 2021-2022, school year.

However, as you are well aware through your position as stewards of public funds, what the
school district was able to do financially in the past is not relevant to our present or future. 
Currently, the Asheville City Board of Education is focused on a sustainable budget to support
the future of both K-12 education and our Pre-K program. Unfortunately, Asheville City
Schools, like many families in our City and County, is facing rising expenses and costs.  In
addition, the district has been utilizing one-time money from its fund balance for the past several
years to sustain staffing and service levels.  The use of the fund balance to pay for personnel and
services is a common approach used by school districts, but that approach cannot be sustained
indefinitely. Finally, as you know, federal money in response to COVID-19 is targeted for
certain services and is also one-time money.
 
If the district were to operate seven Pre-K classrooms for the 2022-2023 school year, it would
cost approximately $595,841 from local funds above and beyond Pre-K revenues received.
However, as we’ve been delving deeper into our budget, it is becoming clear that continuing to
allocate so much money, money that’s intended to go to our K-12 students, to fund Pre-K is no
longer fiscally responsible.

In May 2021, the County Commissioners voted to reduce the Asheville City Schools Tax Rate
to a “revenue-neutral” rate of 10.62¢ instead of the requested 12¢. This resulted in a decrease of
$1,448,019 in local funds for our district. These funds support Asheville City Schools to address
the wage gap in our area. In addition, the financial impact has been compounded by the effects
of inflation, supply chain issues, labor cost increases, labor shortages and rising medical and
retirement costs.

Due to these current financial constraints, even after reducing our footprint, we are simply not
in a position to maintain our current levels of funding for Pre-K using the same dollars the
County gives to all public schools for K-12 education. This is not a political strategy or a ploy to
obtain additional funding. Past funding levels for Pre-K education cannot be sustained in 2022.

“Expanding access to quality early childhood education and Pre-K is a top priority” of not
only the Buncombe County Commissioners but also Asheville City Schools. Like the County,
the district has endeavored to support the Pre-K Program to “address EQUITY, close the
opportunity and achievement gap and support a strong, local workforce and economy.” It is
indeed exciting to hear of the money that has been granted to not only support 267 new early
childhood slots in the County but also increase the salaries of staff employed in those centers. It
is also true that the Commissioners graciously allocated money to our district through the
Buncombe County Early Childhood and Development Fund in the amount of $193,147 in 2019
and $159,000 in 2020. That total, however, is a fraction of the millions of dollars given to other
entities in the County to support their initiatives.
 We have recently been made aware of some of the grant qualifications which would provide
further explanation as to why Asheville City Schools is NOT receiving support from the
Buncombe County Early Childhood and Development Fund. As stated, “the singular purpose of
the county’s Early Childhood Education and Development Fund is to expand and strengthen our
local early childhood education programs, not to backfill funding cuts to preschool and Pre-K
programs.” We understand your qualifications; however, ours is an urban school system. Our
challenges, while at times similar to those of schools in the County, are more diverse and require
different strategies and added resources.

Reducing the amount of money the School Board allocates from the County’s K-12 funding
to support Asheville City Schools’ Pre-K Program is not a decision that has been made lightly. It
is a NECESSITY. Leadership often requires unpopular and extremely hard decisions. This is the
position Asheville City Schools is now facing. Years of drawing from our fund balance in order
to supplement our Pre-K program has added to our budget crisis. We no longer have a choice if
we are to keep our system financially viable. The hope is to correct our budget issues in the next
few years and to gain the level of financial solvency that will allow us to, once again, take on the
programs we have had to reduce. We are not in a position to do so now.

We’re grateful for local funding that allows us to provide music, art, foreign language and
other essential elements of a quality education for our K-12 students. It has also allowed us to
have an extremely robust Advanced Placement opportunity. The decision to keep these options
available is just one of the compelling reasons why, even though Asheville City Schools has
higher per-student spending, we no longer have the resources to fully maintain or increase our
Pre-K offerings. Simply put, in order to continue programs for K-12 students, we have to make
these hard decisions. This is why we look to Buncombe County for Pre-K funding support.

Additionally, regarding the letter’s reference to Article 39 sales tax revenue, Asheville City
Schools has and will continue to appreciate additional tax dollars that can be used to support
capital school projects. This year, the School Capital Fund Commission awarded our district
$7,502,175. However, in order to give a fuller profile of needed school funding, we’d like to
point out that our district currently has $38,257,876.65 in critical and high-priority needs. This
was reported in the District’s December 6, 2021, Board Brief. In addition, it is essential that
everyone understands that, legally, capital dollars cannot be used to pay operational and
personnel costs.
 We also appreciate ongoing solar panel projects involving our district. We thank Chairman
Newman for his leadership in this area and hope to realize rebates and savings that can be used to
support our students once the project is completed.

Asheville City Schools needs additional financial assistance from the County to maintain
Pre-K offerings at previous levels because the rising costs and expenses we face cannot be
addressed using capital money, one-time federal dollars, one-time fund balance dollars or the
static revenue received from the Asheville City Schools Tax Rate. Approximately 79% of local
dollars, which is money from our Fund 2 budget, is used for the salaries and benefits of staff
supporting our children. Simply put, the School Board cannot sacrifice jobs and a quality K-12
educational program to maintain past efforts in early childhood education. Our budget must
balance, and that requires budget cuts in the face of higher costs without matching revenue
increases.

We look forward to continuing to provide Buncombe County Commissioners with clear

communication and effective collaboration around what has long been a shared priority
between our respective boards.

We are confident that, by working together, we can support ALL of the children in Buncombe
County.

Sincerely,

James Carter, Asheville City Board of Education Chair

Martha Geitner, Asheville City Board of Education Vice Chair

Peyton O’Conner, Asheville City Board of Education Member

Shaunda Sandford Jackson, Asheville City Board of Education Member