ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Who will decide if Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools districts should be consolidated?
That question was part of an almost 30-minute discussion Thursday about the School Consolidation Feasibility Study underway in the county.
House Bill 142, which Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law on Sept. 29, 2023, mandated that Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems study the feasibility of a merger. The school districts quickly designated Buncombe County Government as the lead entity on the project.
Charlotte-based Prismatic Services Inc. was awarded a $310,543 contract to spearhead the study.
Buncombe County Strategic Partnerships Director Rachael Sawyer said that money came from the county’s general fund and the hope is that it will be reimbursed from the state General Assembly.
“That is pending,” she said during Thursday’s Buncombe County School Board of Education meeting.
Sawyer said the goal was to have a study that would be rigorous and comprehensive
“This work is guided by a diverse local project team who is here to ensure that we have diverse perspectives that represent many aspects of school system operations and represent many voices of people who are stakeholders impacted by these schools,” Sawyer said.
The 24-member project team is comprised of people selected by the county manager and school superintendents
Prismatic has 11 consultants assigned to the project, and those consultants will be conducting more than 1,800 hours of work with a large amount of on-site time, Sawyer said.
“That hands-on approach is really valuable to the trustworthiness that what will come out on the other end will be a high-quality project,” she said.
So far they have conducted 43 interviews and made 21 school visits, Sawyer said during her presentation.
The bulk of the community engagement process will happen from August through October.
“So that we can talk with folks at all walks of life throughout Asheville and Buncombe County,” Sawyer said.
Prismatic is to submit a final report no later than Dec. 31.
“It really will be quite a short runway between when the report is in our hand in December and when recommendations are due back to the state in mid-February,” Sawyer said.
That is when things get murky.
Once Prismatic makes its recommendations, the boards will meet to discuss them. Sawyer said school board members could confirm or amend Prismatic’s recommendations or make other recommendations.
“It is ultimately the Buncombe County Board of Education and Asheville City Board of Education who will make the recommendations that go back to the state,” Sawyer said.
However, she conceded the county could have a role in the merger decision.
“My understanding is there are three ways the districts could merge,” Sawyer said. “The county commission could vote to do that, the districts themselves could vote to merge or the General Assembly could vote to merge.”
County commissioners haven’t specified whether or not they want to vote on the recommendations, she said.
“From my understanding that authority wasn’t designated,” Sawyer said.
Once state lawmakers get the recommendation, they could accept it or override it, she said.
