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Board directs staff to study capacity pressures in T.C. Roberson attendance area
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Jackson presented enrollment, transfers and building‑permit data for the T.C. Roberson attendance area and the board voted to have staff study capacity and potential solutions, citing multi‑year timelines for capital projects.
The Buncombe County Board of Education directed district staff to study school capacity issues in the T.C. Roberson attendance area after Superintendent Dr. Jackson reviewed enrollment trends, transfer data and building‑permit activity.
Dr. Jackson told the board that the district’s April 2024 enrollment and facilities report shows “growth, ebbs and flows” across the Roberson schools and highlighted the district’s principal monthly reports. He said the district’s month‑8 enrollment comparison showed the district was down about 80 students year‑over‑year, an effect Dr. Jackson attributed in part to hurricane impacts.
The superintendent reviewed capacity measures the district uses — functional capacity, theoretical/common‑core capacity and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) statewide capacity calculator — and noted that Estes Elementary was marked in red in the presentation as over capacity. He reported functional‑utilization rates shown in the materials: Avery’s Creek at 89%, Glen Arden at 93%, Coontz at 78%, Cane Creek at 63% and Valley Springs Middle at 63%.
Dr. Jackson also presented transfers and net enrollment changes: the Roberson district had 541 students transferred into the district systemwide from charter, private, homeschooling, Asheville City Schools and online at the time of the April report, with a net positive of 38 students in the Roberson schools in the 2024–25 reporting period. Residential building permit counts for the Roberson district were listed as 263 (February 2024) and the packet highlighted several major subdivisions with proposed lots in the Avery’s Creek and Estes attendance areas.
Board members discussed the time and funding required for new construction and additions. Attorney Dean Shatley and other board members explained that a general obligation bond would require a public vote in a general election and months of preparation; the county has used limited obligation bonds or certificates of participation in the past as alternatives that do not require a public vote.
Miss Churchill moved that staff study capacity issues in the T.C. Roberson attendance area; the motion was seconded and carried. Board members emphasized the need to begin studying options now because planning, design and construction commonly take multiple years.
