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Asheville City Schools seeks $1.88M for Asheville High perimeter security, plus other facility requests
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Summary
Asheville City Schools asked the commission to repurpose an existing $1.65M vestibule allocation and add $229,000 for Asheville High perimeter security (estimated total $1,879,000), requested funding for a middle-school restroom and concession ($~1.3M) and requested FY27 design fees of $560,647 for the 1928 media/gym renovation.
Asheville City Schools presented a series of facility requests on March 30 and asked the School Capital Fund Commission to consider repurposing existing funds and advancing design work.
The district’s presenter (speaker 5) described perimeter vulnerabilities at Asheville High’s nearly 40-acre campus and requested that the commission repurpose a previously approved $1,650,000 security vestibule allocation and add $229,000 from a front-steps project to create a consolidated exterior security project. “So what we’re really asking today is to use that money that’s already established in the fund for this security project at the high school and then add in the $229,000 from the front step project to give us a total project cost on the exterior security of $1,879,000,” the presenter said. The presenter cautioned the full scope is not yet defined and will require coordination with the historic society, Department of Transportation, Asheville Police Department, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and school administration.
Commissioners and district staff discussed constraints at the historic main façade on McDowell Street and noted DOT traffic studies will influence possible changes to vehicle flow. The presenter emphasized that stakeholder input — particularly from the historic society — will shape material and design choices and that some solutions (decorative fencing, guard shacks, automated gates and camera technology) have significantly different cost profiles.
Asheville City Schools also requested funding to finish a middle-school track restroom and concession stand that was partially funded in a prior cycle. The presenter estimated a total cost around $1.3 million after escalation and fees and said the lack of a permanent restroom forces event organizers to open school buildings or use portable toilets.
On the older 1928 portion of Asheville High, the district requested FY27 design funding of $560,647 to advance renovations to the media center and adjacent gym spaces, which face accessibility and mechanical-system deficiencies. The presenter said a prior 2021 estimate for a larger renovation was about $4.7 million, and recommended beginning with design so the commission will have construction estimates in FY28.
Commissioners asked about historic-preservation constraints, electrical and gate-operator costs, and whether the $1.879 million estimate is likely to be sufficient; district staff said the amount is an initial combined request and that a detailed scope and cost will follow once stakeholders weigh in. No final appropriations were approved at the meeting.
The commission requested follow-up materials and cost breakdowns and will consider the requests once staff returns with the fund-balance forecast and updated project cost data at the next meeting.
