ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville City Schools students, parents and members of the community packed into the ACS Board Room this evening to protest the dissolution of orchestra programs at Asheville Middle School and Asheville High School.
Every chair in the audience was filled during the ACS Board of Education meeting, which was held at 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 10, at the ACS Administrative Offices, 85 Mountain St., Asheville.
In the back of the room, people stood three rows deep. Several held signs. Others clutched instruments. They were all there in opposition to the recent announcement that the orchestra programs would not be returning for the 2026-27 school year, following a district decision to end the program citing low enrollment.
20+ participants speak during public comment
The announcement led to outcry from the Asheville arts community. At the meeting, 21 attendees signed up for public comment, a segment where members of the public may address the ACS BOE.
Before the segment commenced, Sarah Thornburg, chair of the ACS BOE, reminded speakers of the public comment rules, including a three-minute time limit per speaker and civility expected from each participant.
Typically, Thornburg said, ACS BOE public comment sessions are limited to 30 minutes, unless voted on by the board. At the Aug. 10 meeting, the board voted to extend the session to 63 minutes, allowing each registered public comment participant the chance to speak.
Watch the entire Asheville City Schools Board of Education meeting here.
The speakers, which included AMS orchestra students, lifelong professional musicians, present and previous orchestra parents and other members of the public, approached their advocacy from several angles. Some mentioned the benefits of playing orchestra music when it came to mental health, math skills and making friends. A few mentioned they had moved to Asheville because of its reputation as a city that supported the arts, stating that they saw the school district decision in opposition to that philosophy.
Many shared their frustration that they were not informed earlier about the possibility the program would be abolished, stating that, if given the opportunity, they would have done what they could to bolster funding and enrollment for the program.
“If enrollment is truly the concern, why were parents never informed that enrollment was low, or that program was at risk? We were never given the opportunity to help grow participation. Instead, this decision feels rushed and lacking in transparency,” said Allison Black, an ACS parent since 2008.
Black said the elimination of the orchestra program was the first time she had ever questioned whether the school district had kept the best interest of students in mind when making its decision.
828newsNOW reached out to Asheville City Schools several times for a comment on the elimination of the program and did not receive a response.
Save Our Strings, say orchestra students
Several speakers, including Black, her partner, musician Jeff Thompson, and Thompson’s daughter, 12-year-old Hayes Bailey, wore black shirts decorated with string instruments. Above the instruments, “S.O.S Save Our Strings” was written in gold lettering. The shirts were designed by Bailey, a violinist at AMS.
On Thursday, Aug. 6, Thompson wrote a Facebook post about the discontinuation of the orchestra programs. The post, which featured Bailey and her design, accumulated over 1,600 likes and 1,500 shares in four days.
After the meeting, Bailey stood outside of the board room talking to several friends and fellow musicians, ages 11 to 14. It was the second time she had publicly addressed the school board.
“I’m not entirely sure if the superintendent is listening to me. I think most of the school board is,” Bailey reflected.
Even so, she said, “I think the community, the orchestra community, has definitely made some progress.”
Another student, Maeve Higginbotham, 11 years old and a rising 6th grader at AMS, had already signed up for the school orchestra when the program was cut.
“Now, my schedule might look incredibly different than I thought it did,” Higginbotham said. “I really wanted to learn violin, and now, I’m worried that I might not get to.”
Higginbotham said attending the board meetings was a first for them, but it had been a positive experience, if “a little nerve-wracking.”
“It’s pretty cool to hear public comment and just feel like you are part of something that is actually, actively fighting for something that would really affect you,” Higginbotham said.
The students’ orchestra instructor, Franklin Keel, said that he was proud of his students for speaking up for their program.
“You could hear their voice in their words. Not their physical voice, but that this was coming from them, and it was something that they cared about and that they were willing to get in front of adults and advocate for what they cared about,” Keel said. “I’m extremely proud of them for doing that.”
For more information about Asheville City Schools Board of Education meetings, visit www.ashevillecityschools.net/about-acs/asheville-city-board-of-education/acs-boe-home.