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Asheville City Schools board trims how members request contract details to limit staff burden
Summary
Board members agreed to a process for distilling detailed contract questions and to route voluminous requests through the chair or superintendent so staff time is used judiciously; the board left the Asheville Police Department SRO contract for further review.
At a November work session, the Asheville City Schools Board of Education agreed on a new, informal approach to limit the workload created when individual board members send extensive written questions about contracts.
Board Chair Sarah (Speaker 1) opened the discussion after one member’s long list of contract questions prompted a review of how requests should be handled. “I directed that the request be moved to a public meeting for discussion,” she said, noting many of the questions concerned contracts the board already had approved or items submitted for information only.
Board members and staff described the scope of the problem. A board member who compiles lengthy inquiries said he reviews each contract to find patterns and potential process failures. “I go through each contract, figure it out, make a list of questions, and look for the patterns,” he said (Speaker 5). Staff replied that answering exhaustive emailed lists creates “a significant amount of work” and recommended that members limit questions to one or two items or three top-line themes so central-office staff can prioritize work on instruction.
The board settled on a process in which members may send distilled questions to the full board; if the set of questions appears to be a larger project, the chair or superintendent will decide whether it warrants staff time and, if so, the item will be placed on an agenda for a board vote. "If it feels like a project," the chair said, "we will bring it back to this board to discuss whether it warrants that investment of time."
Staff also clarified several recurring technical concerns: the district generally redacts Social Security numbers, keeping only the last four digits, and formal procurement quotes are required by policy only at higher dollar thresholds. The board did not adopt a formal written rule at the meeting but agreed to the practical approach of routing large inquiries through leadership and to continue refining the process.
The board also discussed the Asheville Police Department SRO contract during the meeting and decided to delay placing that specific agreement on the consent agenda until members could review an updated contract version.
The board paused the public portion of the work session to enter closed session later in the evening to consider personnel and attorney-client matters.
