[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6260059,"mediaKeyId","3136315-33f6e8f4713e7629e7db4d861a89ae3d","parentId",3136315,"title","Facilities backlog tops $450 million; schools seek phased Article 39 and 40/42 funding amid legislative uncertainty","audioSeconds",280,"startMs",3012000,"endMs",3292000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3136315-33f6e8f4713e7629e7db4d861a89ae3d&start=3012&end=3292","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3136315-33f6e8f4713e7629e7db4d861a89ae3d/thumbnail_3012000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6260059/North-Carolina/Facilities-backlog-tops-450-million-schools-seek-phased-Article-39-and-4042-funding-amid-legislative-uncertainty","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6260059-23bcd42f793d56f5702d55cd68622ef9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770906921&Signature=f61oM9tZSiF8RhR1wOQLK878GLlcks5aM5tFqWu9ScSXskS1JckbkLWY23KMdE1HTCcTqZAHpwJziU~B3b6fsrUBViTSs9PKsIb8tzY9P9Kn-LPQXEqG08oUyfPvnJqNaeEEwbM63-yOePPMTrTpNpIO0DOsNXDUIv8VvJ~LROqplGi6qHb~Ips0uHUc5~KUtkmkj8dM~Ok1sa-7g-2ZToQxeIqlgeT9k1tF~0M~m-~1T2mk5qLgrhDLlisyukCt~mP8d9njq-7RlM7OY-P33qYQTcPgn0IEleXHsqfqtEBYQ96iQsNeNy3tIyPNy0oto9qs4wxUnUHPY-ybf2H3Qw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-27T16:28:01.34Z","article","Buncombe County Schools facilities staff told the Board Friday that the district faces multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar capital needs driven by aging infrastructure, rising construction costs and recent growth in parts of the county.

\"We have 45 school campuses, 4 and a half million square feet of brick and mortar space and 102 acres of roof,\" Director of Facilities and Maintenance Clark Wyatt said. He described the district's average facility age as roughly 50 years and called deferred maintenance a driver of exponentially higher future costs.

Wyatt said the district's total identified capital needs this year exceed $450 million across funding streams; because available funds are far smaller, the district uses a phased approach and multiple funding sources (Article 39, Article 40/42 and lottery funds) to spread work across years.

Nut graf: The immediate implications are operational and safety focused—roofs, mechanical systems, fire alarms and access control were emphasized—and the district warned a state legislative proposal to change how Article 39 funds may be used would materially alter the district's ability to fund its highest‑priority infrastructure projects.

What the district presented

- Scale of need: Wyatt presented a long‑range capital estimate that the district uses to prioritize work. He said an annual spend of about $27 million would be required merely to maintain infrastructure at current levels; current expected capital revenue in the 40/42 fund this year was presented as roughly $17.5 million (a county forecast figure used for planning).

- Roofing, mechanical and electrical backlog: The facilities summary showed more than $19.5 million in immediate or near‑term roofing needs that were not funded in the proposed capital budget; additional electrical and flooring work was also listed as unfunded immediate needs.

- Priority projects and phasing: For Article 39 (the long‑range capital commission process) the district provided a priority‑1 list of 21 projects that would total roughly $132 million if fully funded; for 2025 the district requested phased allocations of about $26 million to continue multi‑year work. Projects named in the presentation included phased replacement or renovation of W.D. Williams (mechanical and code issues), lobby/security retrofits (pilot prototype completed at several campuses), mechanical upgrades at North Buncombe High, stadium light upgrades at Urban High, queue drive improvements at Abers Creek, and a guardhouse that will serve two campuses at Reynolds.

- Recent and completed work: Wyatt described recent security lobby projects at North Buncombe and West Buncombe, a nearly finished guardhouse at Reynolds, a completed queue drive at Abers Creek and other phase work such as a music classroom retrofit at the central office site.

Growth, capacity and planning

Facilities staff and CFO Thorpe presented residential permit data showing concentrated development in the North Buncombe and TC Robertson areas tied to local industry growth. Thorpe said, for example, that the North Buncombe district had 432 permits in 2024 equating to 588 housing units, and the TC Robertson area had 263 permits equating to 1,186 units (including 29 multifamily projects totaling about 932 units). The district's long‑range enrollment model uses those permit counts, birth rates and cohort retention to project capacity needs.

The district uses a \"functional capacity\" metric (principal‑validated classroom and space usage) rather than a theoretical state calculator to estimate whether schools will be over or under capacity. Staff flagged several schools at or above projected capacity over the next five years, including Estes, North Buncombe Elementary, Weaverville Primary, West Buncombe and Oakley, and said capacity will require close attention as housing growth continues.

Legal and legislative context

Wyatt and board members raised the pending Article 39 legislation at the North Carolina General Assembly. Board members and facilities staff warned that changes to Article 39 could substantially reduce the capital funds available for school infrastructure or change allowable uses; facilities staff said the district is watching the bill because it could \"dramatically\" hamper planned timelines for major replacements such as W.D. Williams.

Quotations from staff

- \"If we ignore things like roofs or major infrastructure items, it could get our system on the news pretty quick sometime when something has to be shut down,\" Wyatt said, stressing the risk of deferral.

- Thorpe added: \"We are trying really hard to maximize the state and federal dollars as we move through every single payroll and every single line item making sure that we're maximizing all of those funds.\"

Why this matters

The district's capital backlog and the phased funding approach affect safety, accessibility and daily operations across schools; staff argued that phased investment is less expensive than deferred maintenance, and that the county and state funding mix (Article 39, Article 40/42 and lottery funds) drives which projects can move forward. District leaders asked the board to maintain a focus on prioritization and to watch the Article 39 bill because it could change the capital planning framework the district has used for years.

Ending: Facilities staff will present finalized priority and phased requests for board approval as the Article 39 process and county capital funding timelines proceed, with staff noting that delays or legislative changes will require reprioritization and could push timelines for large projects into later years.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Buncombe County Schools Board of Education Special Called Meeting - 4/25/25 - Budget Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","Buncombe County Schools facilities staff told the Board Friday that the district faces multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar capital needs driven by aging infrastructure, rising construction costs and recent growth in parts of the county.","taxTitle","Buncombe County Schools, School Districts, North Carolina","taxId",13012,"location","North Carolina","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6260063,"Buncombe County Schools presents 2025-26 \"maintenance\" budget as state funding shifts and costs rise",2418,562000,2980000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3136315-33f6e8f4713e7629e7db4d861a89ae3d&start=562&end=2980","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3136315-33f6e8f4713e7629e7db4d861a89ae3d/thumbnail_562000.jpg","/articles/6260063/North-Carolina/Buncombe-County-Schools-presents-2025-26-maintenance-budget-as-state-funding-shifts-and-costs-rise","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6260063-c3a13d31ac44c903908578cdb82ca8c9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770906921&Signature=IZfnRcdijWx5Tc9p51L1DcRA9z5My9x~kbRBXYI2HkuFLrxzsSZaDcbtZqV-UR0rfGx4HA1Y-kJiyhFcVf4umykX1CjxN5tFfz98CZpMf9IMr2XXVApqKjP14CMZieavLBOA2rb~U0ANSflMdiiryVRfqUXCihF9zSJlLY~eMIbToCBAaiZ~IBOmQn53wvhgu9VnFSI4BAe~W-K6VV5UVXvE99THdSOuuY-Rz-fpostkkKHdZYEweMDZQSOz8PQOedBohTQWJHa6pHVFSnDKCEYFLPKTWIPEUwqVzlkX634vY6SP8O6oJ6FVVApqUvZWGVRKYZXeXmvr5exzOeusIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Buncombe County Schools presented its 2025-26 operating budget proposal Friday, with Chief Financial Officer Tina Thorpe telling the Board that the plan is intended to maintain current services amid rising costs and uncertain state revenue.

\"This is our sixth budget work session that we've been working through different scenarios,\" Thorpe said, outlining assumptions on pay, insurance and utilities and warning that a midyear $3.9 million reduction in 2024-25 and a lower county starting appropriation have tightened planning.

The proposal includes targeted pay increases the district modeled for local budgeting: a 3% certified staff increase (which Thorpe said, with step movement, equates to roughly 4.13%) and a 2% increase for classified staff plus step (presented as roughly a 3% impact after steps). Thorpe also told the board she is building in an employer retirement projection of 25.02 percent (the system is currently at 24.04) and a hospitalization assumption of $8,340 per employee for planning.

Nut graf: The budget matters because state and federal funding account for a majority of the district's revenue flows but are tied to average daily membership (ADM), which has been pressured by charter enrollment, virtual programs and other trends. Thorpe told the board the state provides about 56% of district expenditures while local funds cover roughly a third and federal grants about 8 percent—figures she presented from the district revenue snapshot as of March 31, 2025.

Key details and context

- Enrollment and state allotments: Thorpe said the district's best-1-of-2 ADM declined by 14 students year over year (from 22,066 to 22,052), a small change that nonetheless has fiscal effects because state planning allotments were adjusted upward in reserve to cover charter school growth statewide rather than through the usual December true-up. Thorpe said the state's initial planning allotments were lowered for local public school units so the state could reserve more funds for charter payments.

- Locally funded personnel: Thorpe reviewed a multi-year effort to reduce the number of positions supported entirely by local dollars. She said the highest point of locally funded positions had been 745 and that through attrition and alignment the district had reduced that number (a March 31 payroll snapshot was shown). She cautioned that state allotments and changes in enrollment mix (for example, special education and multilingual learner counts) change personnel needs and local cost pressures.

- Cost drivers and assumptions: Thorpe gave several concrete cost assumptions used in the proposal: property insurance increases (she cited a 78% increase in recent years as an example of market pressure), utility estimates of +8.5% for electricity, +3% for gas and +10% for water, and a 3% inflation/tariff build for contracted services and supplies. She said property insurance and an overall \"other\" category could increase by about $2 million in the coming year, with property insurance accounting for a large share.

- Salary & benefits summary: Thorpe reported a local salary-and-benefits planning increment (presented in the discussion) that reflects the pay assumptions above and other fixed costs; she described the superintendent's 2025-26 proposal as a \"maintenance budget\" that aims to sustain current services rather than expand them. Superintendent Hunter Jackson summarized: \"I would classify this as a maintenance budget. It's not an expansion budget... the increase is simply to cover the cost associated with the immutable cost increases like insurance, etcetera.\"

Board questions and process notes

Board members pressed staff on several subjects: the history of state versus local shares of funding (Thorpe said state support has been roughly stable in dollar terms but has not kept pace with inflation, moving the local share higher over several years); details behind classified pay study implementation (Thorpe summarized a third-party study and a phased, county-funded implementation that produced average classified raises); and what consolidation or school-closing options would mean for transportation and specialized student needs (Superintendent Jackson noted a consolidation study did not account for geographic, academic or cost factors that would make closures costly or counterproductive).

Thorpe and board members also discussed the role of federal ESSER/COVID dollars (largely spent) and the district's exposure to policy changes at the state level in a \"long session\" legislature that could introduce unfunded mandates.

Votes at a glance

- Board approved the meeting agenda by voice vote at the meeting start. (Motion passed; voice vote; no roll-call tally provided in the transcript.)

- Board approved a motion to adjourn at the end of the session by voice vote. (Motion passed; voice vote; no roll-call tally provided.)

Why it matters locally

Thorpe emphasized the district's limited local taxing and debt authority under North Carolina law and the timing mismatch between local hiring and state budget approval. Those constraints, she said, make planning conservative and increase the importance of the county appropriation and of tracking enrollment, charter conversions, and voucher/virtual program flows.

Ending: The superintendent's budget recommendation will be considered at the board's regular meeting next week; the district will present a formal budget request to the Buncombe County Commissioners by May 15 as required by local budget rules. The board signaled the proposal is intended to preserve current services while staff and trustees continue to monitor state legislative developments and local appropriation negotiations.

","Buncombe County Schools presented its 2025-26 operating budget proposal Friday, with Chief Financial Officer Tina Thorpe telling the Board that the plan is intended to maintain current services amid rising costs and uncertain state revenue.","actionData","errors"]

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Facilities backlog tops $450 million; schools seek phased Article 39 and 40/42 funding amid legislative uncertainty

Buncombe County Schools presents 2025-26 "maintenance" budget as state funding shifts and costs rise