At the Asheville City Schools Board of Education meeting, three in-person public commenters urged board action on teacher compensation, equity and district staff policies.

Soren Petersen, who has addressed local elected bodies on teacher pay in prior meetings, urged the board to increase the cityfunded local pay supplement and to change its structure from a percentage to a fixed dollar amount. Petersen summarized economic context and turnover and asked the board to "make the adjustments that we've needed over the past 5 years with the local tax free appraisal. And second, change to a dollar amount rather than a percentage rate."

Chris Gordon presented recommendations adapted from the community reparations commission and urged the district to adopt practices that would improve climate and outcomes for Black and brown students. Gordon called for curriculum review and remediation processes, expanded vocational education linked to student interests, ongoing equity audits of specialty programs, mandatory staff training on implicit bias and trauma-informed strategies, reductions in suspensions and creation of restorative options, clearer limits on SRO involvement in discipline, and increased school access to mental-health professionals. Gordon emphasized that these measures are "best practices" and said, "all means all."

Carson Bridges, president of the Asheville City Association of Educators (ACAE) and a first-grade teacher at Claxton, told the board about the district's first meet-and-confer session with staff representatives and district administration. He described proposals the ACAE team brought forward on three district policies: inclement-weather procedures, the telework policy (particularly for non-instructional classified staff), and visitor access. Bridges summarized the ACAE proposals: a 5 a.m. deadline for inclement-weather decisions, double pay for non-instructional classified staff who report in person during inclement weather (and an option for telework), no pay penalty if staff cannot work during inclement weather, a districtwide option to work from home on optional teacher workdays, and better access to union resources at worksites. Bridges said the next meet-and-confer meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12.

No formal district action was taken during public comment; the speakers asked the board to consider their recommendations during upcoming budget and policy discussions.