Asheville City Schools board approves feasibility study for district facilities after debate over enrollment data

The Asheville City Schools Board of Education voted 6–1 on a recommendation to hire a consultant to complete a districtwide facilities feasibility study, approving the contract at the board's meeting on Aug. 1, 2025.

The study, as described in a proposal dated 08/01/2025, will assess how the district uses its capital resources, review building conditions and educational adequacy, and examine enrollment projections. The board heard extended discussion from members who cautioned that the proposal relies on existing enrollment studies and, in places, limits the engineering review planned for Asheville High School.

"This proposal is for Asheville City Schools to engage, to complete a feasibility study that will help support our strategic planning for long term success at the school district," Maggie (superintendent) said when introducing the recommendation.

Board member Pepe expressed concern that parts of the proposed scope exclude key sites and that the study appears to rely on unvalidated enrollment figures. "I just don't see how we can, effectively get the results that we're looking for, excluding that campus," Pepe said, arguing the consultant should validate enrollment inputs and review Asheville High more fully.

Board members debated whether the 30% figure used in some presentations reflected a school's instructional capacity or a separate fire-marshal occupancy limit. Pepe said the 30% figure cited earlier was based on fire-marshal occupancy limits, not the number of students who could be instructed in classrooms, and warned that mixing those measures could yield misleading conclusions.

Board Chair Sarah and other members responded that the firm was selected in part to perform focused analysis and that the scope could be adjusted in a follow-up meeting with the vendor. The board was told that because of ongoing construction at Asheville High, the proposed fee does not include a full engineering assessment of the high school but that such an assessment could be added if warranted.

A roll-call vote approved the study 6–1. The motion approved the feasibility study recommendation as described in the proposal dated 08/01/2025; the contract and detailed scope will be set in a meeting with the selected vendor.

Next steps the board discussed include a vendor kickoff to refine scope and an opportunity for the board to request additional work (including further engineering review of Asheville High or a commissioned economic analysis) if it deems those items necessary.