Asheville City Schools board votes 4–3 to request 10-cent supplemental tax amid equity, revaluation debate

The Asheville City Schools board voted 4–3 to ask Buncombe County commissioners for a 10-cent supplemental property tax rate, after a lengthy debate about funding needs, a recent county reappraisal and potential harm to legacy homeowners. The board’s recommendation is advisory; the county commissioners and county staff control the final rate.

Maggie, who presented the district’s budget needs and the history of the locally approved supplemental tax, said the county finance team’s revenue-neutral calculation is 8.14 cents but noted the district faces several unfilled costs. “We settled on asking … a 9 cent … tax millage rate,” Maggie said earlier in the meeting while outlining needs that included an estimated $783,000 gap for exceptional-children services, roughly $1.4 million for summer and after-school programming, and an expected jump in the school resource officer contract to about $660,000.

Board members sharply divided over whether to ask for more than the revenue-neutral rate. Board member Jesse urged caution, arguing the timing of the county reassessment and potential appeals meant the district should not increase the ask now: “Taxing our lower and middle class residents and small business during this time creates an undue burden.” Several other board members, including Amy Ray and others, said program shortfalls make a higher request necessary. “We don’t have the funding we need for our emotional needs at our middle school and our high school,” Amy Ray said, urging the board to consider student supports.

Advocates and community groups previously urged higher rates—FACTS and ACAE had signaled support for 11 cents—but several board members warned that a higher request could be politically difficult because most county commissioners do not represent the Asheville City Schools district and because property valuations are in flux. Board members repeatedly raised the risk that initial reassessment letters (county appraisals shown to the board rose from roughly $36 billion to $58 billion in initial notices) would lead to many taxpayer appeals that could reduce projected revenue.

After multiple motions and votes on various rates (members proposed 12, 11, 10.5, 10, 9.5 and other figures in succession), a motion to request 10 cents was moved, seconded and approved by a narrow margin. Board minutes and staff reported the vote as 4 in favor and 3 opposed. The motion does not bind the county; commissioners may accept, reduce or deny the request.

District staff noted that the supplemental tax revenues are shared with charter schools and that any increase would grow with the tax base over time if kept in subsequent years. The board also discussed earmarking 1 cent for early childhood education in negotiations with county officials should a higher rate be approved by commissioners.

Next steps: The board’s selected number will be submitted to county staff by the April 10 deadline and Maggie will present the district’s case to county officials on April 16. The county’s finance staff has already provided a revenue-neutral number of 8.14 cents.