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Parents, teachers and students urge commissioners to fully fund schools; IC Imagine requests a dedicated SRO
Summary
Dozens of public commenters — students, teachers, custodians, principals and parents — pressed the board to fully fund Asheville City and Buncombe County school budgets and to avoid cuts; leaders of IC Imagine Public Charter School requested a dedicated school resource officer in the 2025–26 budget or reallocation of an existing SRO.
More than two dozen speakers addressed the board during public comment on May 6, largely urging the commissioners to fully fund Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools and to avoid staff and program cuts amid recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.
Students, principals, teachers, custodians, and parents described the educational and community roles of school staff and warned of the effects of proposed cuts. Speakers included student representatives from Asheville High School who shared personal stories about teachers who provide stability and mentorship; staff union and association representatives who presented a petition asking the board to maintain staffing and services; and parents who urged restoring a supplemental tax to support Asheville City Schools.
Representatives and leaders of IC Imagine Public Charter School asked the board and sheriff to allocate or reassign a dedicated school resource officer (SRO) to their campus for the 2025–26 school year. Presenters — Ellen Girardi (lower school principal), Meg Turner (upper school principal), and Jen Townley (executive director) — said IC Imagine enrolls more than 1,200 students at a permanent 47-acre campus, has worked with the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools, and has historically received partial salary support for an SRO through the SRO grant. They said response-only coverage from the sheriff's department is insufficient for the school’s prevention and relationship-building needs and asked that the commission either fund an allocated SRO position in the sheriff’s budget or ask the sheriff to reassign an existing SRO.
Union leaders, custodial and food-service staff, and multiple parents described resource strains that would be exacerbated by budget cuts. Speakers urged prompt action to maintain staff positions and programs and noted the broader community costs of underfunding public education.
