ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A survey of the feasibility of combining Asheville City Schools with Buncombe County Schools has come to a close.
The Board of Commissioners will hold a joint meeting with BCS and ACS administrators to present and discuss the findings of the School System Consolidation Feasibility Study at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 16 in the first floor conference room of the County Administration Building, 200 College St.
While the meeting is open to the public and will be streamed at www.facebook.com/buncombeGov, public comment will not be taken.
In Chapter 6 of the 262 page draft report compiled by Prismatic Services, the consultant on the project, it was concluded that “the relevant research and experiences of the those in recently consolidated NC school systems does not provide convincing evidence that consolidation would bring about large financial savings.”
The factors taken into consideration during the Prismatic survey included student performance, cost saving potential, current levels of collaboration, school system culture and support for consolidation.
Ultimately, the only factor that Prismatic concluded would suggest in favor of a merger was if either school system was facing a financial crisis.
“In such situations, consolidation would be a reasonable potential solution,” the report read. “Prismatic did not find either system to be in the midst of a crisis.”
The draft report is still subject to change before tomorrow’s meeting, but a consolidation of the school systems looks unlikely at this stage.
Click here to read the draft of the report.
More information about the study can be found at engage.buncombecounty.org/schoolsfeasibilitystudy.