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Board hears state‑level changes: vouchers, virtual charters and hurricane bills could affect district funding
Summary
Asheville City Schools staff told the board that recent state actions expanding private school vouchers and loosening virtual charter limits could reduce funding available to the district and its county partners and urged board members to follow and, if desired, advocate on upcoming votes.
District staff provided a summary of recent state legislation and procedural moves the board should watch, saying several bills passed or moved this fall may reduce local public school funding and change state authority over education matters.
Dr. Deakin briefed the board on House Bill 10 and Senate Bill 382. On House Bill 10, Deakin said the governor vetoed the bill in September, but the General Assembly returned on Nov. 19 and overrode the veto, creating a $463 million appropriation toward private school vouchers. Deakin said the district’s available data are reported at the county level, not split between Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools; the county‑level estimate of lost state funding for the 2025–26 school year was about $2.5 million for Buncombe County collectively.
Staff noted the legislation also lifted the income cap for voucher eligibility and expanded the voucher program statewide; Deakin cited outside data showing that a substantial share of voucher recipients have higher incomes (for example, the North Carolina Association of School Administrators data referenced by staff show many recipients earn more than $115,000 annually).
Deakin and other staff also described two related trends they said the board must monitor: (1) the lifting of caps on virtual charter schools and an immediate instance of a brick‑and‑mortar school opening a virtual academy (Pine Springs Preparatory Academy launched a virtual program and the district reported an unexpected invoice for 11 students), and (2) provisions in House Bill 10 that require some county law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Staff said they are consulting legal counsel (Campbell Shatley) and have circulated guidelines to principals about what the district can legally do to protect students and families.
On Senate Bill 382, staff said the senate overrode the governor’s veto and that the package contains a mix of hurricane relief items and other policy changes: compensation extensions for districts impacted by the storm, a reallocation of some powers among the governor, attorney general and state department offices, movement of the Center for Safer Schools from DPI to the State Bureau of Investigation, and many single‑project appropriations the staff characterized as “everything but the kitchen sink.” Staff advised board members that the bill also contains provisions that would affect charter approvals, funding distributions and administrative authority if enacted as passed by the Senate.
Board members asked for lists of which private schools in Buncombe County are accepting vouchers and for more specific counts of students opting into new virtual academies; staff said they would provide more detailed, school‑level data where available. No formal action was taken during the session; staff asked the board to consider advocacy and to stay prepared to respond as state votes continue.
