Asheville City Schools outlines $3M shortfall and staffing reallocations; teachers urge protecting digital lead teachers

Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Fuhrman told the board at its June meeting that the district faces a continuing budget shortfall and presented a list of staffing reallocations and position reductions intended to avoid layoffs while closing an expected gap.

Fuhrman said updated county allocations and local actions narrowed an earlier projected shortfall, leaving "just under $3,000,000 of a shortfall" to address as the district plans its fiscal 2026 budget. She said the district will not conduct layoffs but will reduce and reassign positions by not refilling vacancies and moving staff into other roles.

Key proposals and rationale

- No layoffs: Fuhrman said explicitly, "I do not have plans to reduce force in any way. So no staff will be let go. Everyone has a position. We're just trying to figure out where all the pieces fit."

- Classroom and school-level changes: The district proposed not refilling several open classroom positions across grade levels and schools. Examples cited in the presentation included: reductions in middle-school elective staffing and four middle-school core positions (some of which the superintendent said are covered by resignations, a military leave and a transfer), one EC teacher position not refilled after resignation, and 3–3.5 FTE reductions at the high school (retirements, resignations and internal reassignment to a new campus were identified as offsets).

- Support staff and central office: Fuhrman proposed reducing two central-office FTEs that are open and reassigning three central-office staff to other roles; managers' contracted days could be reduced and departments given specific reduction targets.

- Digital Lead Teachers (DLTs): One notable restructure would change the district's DLT complement from seven to five, with some DLTs reassigned to open classroom positions. Fuhrman said DLTs' job descriptions and school needs led staff to conclude two could cover broader responsibilities. "He felt very comfortable that 2 DLTs could cover [the work]," Fuhrman said when describing the facilities and staffing analysis.

Public comment and staff response

Several teachers and community advocates used public comment to urge the board to preserve student-facing positions, particularly DLTs, and to protect arts programs.

- Cassandra Love, a teacher who identified herself as working in the district, described the DLT's classroom and school-day support: "She comes into our classrooms on a daily basis and collaborates with us to help us make our curriculum more engaging and to help it come alive for the students." Love added a concrete example: students who write about life cycles then use a Makey Makey wiring project to trigger recorded explanations — "That is an entirely different level of engagement."

- Samantha Aycock, a kindergarten teacher at Lucy Herring, told the board that DLT work is integrated into daily classroom instruction and extracurricular programs and urged the district to find alternatives before cutting DLT positions.

- Timothy Lloyd, AMS custodian and president of the Asheville City Association of Educators (ACAE), summarized a districtwide advocacy campaign he led and reiterated the union's priorities. "Do all that we can to keep as many positions as possible," Lloyd said, describing a petition and public demonstrations that urged the board to preserve staffing.

Board discussion

Board members pressed the superintendent on several trade-offs: how using fund balance or county "Article 39" funds would affect future capital needs; whether some contracts (including a consultant contract discussed later in the meeting) could be paused to save staff positions; and whether some savings could come from adjusting future hire calendars and local supplement calculations.

Fuhrman proposed capping the local supplement so future increases are more predictable and said she would freeze the supplement level for the upcoming action period while staff examine longer-term options.

Ending: The board provided feedback but took no formal vote on the staffing reallocation plan at the meeting. Fuhrman said she would return to the board with a recommended budget resolution and spending authorization in late June and a final budget for adoption after state allocations are clear, likely in the fall.