Asheville City Schools targets Oct. 28 restart with four-hour days as water supplies constrain reopening

Asheville City Schools plans to reopen buildings on a coordinated schedule with Buncombe County and charter schools and is targeting Oct. 28 for students’ return, Superintendent Dr. Fuhrman said at the board’s Oct. 16 meeting.

“So we are still targeting October 28 as our start date,” Dr. Fuhrman said, describing a phased plan that relies on county and city water distribution and a daily operational check that gives families four days’ notice before reopening. The district will initially run abbreviated four-hour days — elementary 9 a.m.–1 p.m., middle and high schools 10 a.m.–2 p.m. — to match the available bottled-water supply and delivery logistics, she said.

Why it matters: municipal water in parts of the district remains nonpotable after Hurricane Helene, and the district is counting on two weeks of bottled water provided by Buncombe County and the city to cover the first two weeks of four-hour days. Dr. Fuhrman said FEMA’s planning guidance (a half-liter of water per person every two hours) guided the district’s calculations for needed bottled water.

The plan seeks to put students back in school while minimizing health and safety risks. “When we have running water, even though it’s nonpotable, it will work in the fire systems,” Dr. Fuhrman said, explaining that fire systems and hand-washing requirements affect whether full days can resume without additional measures.

Operational details and staff supports: the superintendent said site leaders will meet with operations staff to craft building-specific delivery and storage plans; palletized deliveries will be used, which requires unloading capacity at each site. A district survey of staff needs is underway; some building leaders have already offered their facilities for staff showers and laundry, and district staff are matching volunteers with people who can host colleagues.

Bridge learning and relief operations: the district held a bridge-learning program and AP study sessions this week to support students’ social-emotional needs and academic continuity, welcoming 246 students at Isaac Dixon and 90 students for college-application help at William Randolph. Dr. Fuhrman said the William Randolph campus has served roughly 440 families with supplies; immediate donation needs include washcloths, towels and batteries.

Concerns from the board: several board members pressed for ways to increase instructional minutes or redistribute missed days without triggering payroll or legal issues. One member said the four-hour model risks substantial learning loss for high school students enrolled in semester courses. Derek, speaking for high-school staff, urged flexibility on grading but noted that external tests and community-college alignments limit options to shift key semester dates.

Next steps: the board deferred a formal vote on calendar changes, asking staff to collect more input from building leaders and return with options. The superintendent and the Buncombe County incident management team will continue daily evaluations and confirm reopening at least four days in advance of any planned start.